


All Bets Are Off

by maraudertimes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Marauders, Romance, Scenes of a sexual nature - Freeform, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme, Spoilers, Strong Violence, Substance Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 07:38:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 97,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6557848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraudertimes/pseuds/maraudertimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can Sirius Black, resident playboy, actually woo the stone<br/>Can the elusive Alexandra James let someone into her guarded heart after her last love destroyed her?<br/>Will Ravenclaw or Gryffindor win the house cup?</p><p> </p><p>Currently being rewritten as Upping The Ante, which is now up!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quidditch, Bludgers and Cartwheels

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note.
> 
> So I know a lot of you will just skip over this like I normally do but I just need you to STOP!
> 
> I'm new at this whole fanfic thing and I really like where I'm going with this story. Reviews would be awesome but as long as you read it, that's fine with me (but reviews are totally appreciated). Thanks and enjoy!
> 
> Maraudertimes out!

****  
LEXI'S POV  
  
I breathed in, the familiar smell of grass and wood filling my nose. How I loved quidditch. It had been so many months since the last time I played. I shivered as a small breeze went by the pitch. Although it had been months since I had last played, it would feel like years on the pitch.  
  
This year our captain, Carter Day, had insisted I be a beater with my best friend Charlotte Meaver. Though I'm usually seeker, a new boy, Tom Higgens, had performed just as well as I had at tryouts. But the selection for beaters after Charlotte's brother Max left last year, was just sad.  
  
Carter coerced me into giving up my spot as seeker and trying out for beater instead. I didn't mind. Charlotte, or Charlie as she liked to be called, and I had always played as beaters together when I went to her house over vacation time. Though I was small and nimble, agile as seekers should be, her older brothers had always placed me on her team as a beater and taken the role as seeker for themselves. I loved quidditch too much to complain though. Whatever position I was in I always seemed to do well and have fun.  
  
For a Ravenclaw that's almost unheard of. We don't usually find ourselves on the athletic side of extracurricular activities. I still do very well in class, better than most if I do say so myself, but a broomstick has always been what I yearned for. Not a new quill or great marks. I had always just wanted to fly.  
  
My older sister Camilla told me I was stupid when we were younger, when I asked for a broomstick for Christmas unlike her practical gift: a new quill set along with new parchment. I told her that her long brown hair, that she coveted, was on fire. And it was, but of course, I would never had done that. What? I wouldn't! Well, maybe a little. At least, back when I still had her.  
  
I shook my head and tried to stop the sadness from coming back. But as I looked out at the pitch, I felt a familiar weightlessness settle in. Carter called out the command to get in the air and I blasted off, the wind in my hair. Familiar blue robes draped over my arms and I was glad of their warmth. It was damn cold. Seeing the other blue clad figures rise up, I made my way over to Charlie.  
  
Her short blonde bob was flying in the wind. She was always trying to tie it back but it was so short she never could. She always told me she envied my dark brown locks but Charlie's look was much sharper. With her striking blue eyes, she looked gorgeous.  
  
Tossing the bat from my right to left hand, I gave her a smile and then yelled duck. She did so and I hit the bludger that was racing towards her so hard I felt the bat slip a little from my grasp. While I was a small girl, I could hit the buggers like even the strongest man. She flew back up to look me in the eye when the familiar sound of bat against bludger cracked around the pitch. I looked to where the sound had come from and saw red. Literally.  
  
The red robes of the Gryffindor team were in a cluster near the far end of the pitch and I heard Carter sigh loudly as he flew over. I gave Charlie a look and we raced after him. Carter and James Potter, the captain of the Gryffindor team, had never really gotten along. Sure they weren't as bad as the Slytherins, but Carter nursed a hate for the Gryffindor team ever since the big loss two years ago that cost us the cup we rightfully should have had.  
  
Their beater, Sirius Black, had 'accidentally' hit our keeper, Alexander Kingston, the only seventh year on the team this year, with a bludger he swore he had aimed at our chasers. Thankfully, Alex's muscled physique meant he wasn't quite as hurt but after the game I saw pain in his brown eyes that matched his hair.  
  
I touched down a second after Carter, jumping off the broom.  
  
"Potter."  
  
"Day."  
  
Well, at least they were being pleasant.  
  
"We have the pitch booked Potter. Flitwick booked it himself," Carter said in a restrained voice, his black hair a mirror of Potter's, but cropped short instead of shaggy, and actually combed.  
  
Potter sighed. "Well Minnie told us it was ours." He sniffed. "And obviously, Flitwick probably forgot. You know how he is. _Short_ -term memory and all." His hazel eyes danced with laughter at his cruel joke.  
  
I stiffened as his team began to giggle. "Shut up Potter. Don't talk unless you have something intelligent to say."  
  
He gave me a disdainful look. "Ah yes. New players. Is this why you have to train Day?"  
  
I growled. "I'm not new you prat."  
  
"Really?" Said Black, Potter's sidekick. "Because I've never seen such a scrawny looking girl play as beater. Sure you're up for it?" His shaggy black hair fell into his eyes. Merlin, he needed a haircut.  
  
I tensed. He laughed because he thought it was because of what he said. But I could hear a familiar whistling in my ears. Turning quickly, I shoved Carter out of the way and took a swing at the bludger that would have crushed his skull. As I turned back around, I saw astonishment in their eyes. Well, except for Potter and Black's. They just seemed bored. Ticked off, I stepped closer as Potter took out a small snitch that he always carried and began to let it fly a little out of reach and then catch it.  
  
"I'm not new. But I suggest if you want to keep those things you call eyes, you'll watch what you say about my appearance _Black_."  
  
"Really? Because you look so unfamiliar it's uncanny," Potter sighed.  
  
I quickly snatched the snitch just as he was about to grab it. "Seem familiar now Potter? Or have you blocked that event from your memory?"  
  
Last year, the game versus Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, Potter had seen the snitch an instant before I had. Racing after it, he followed the damned thing as I quickly looped around the field and went the opposite direction. Coming closer to the snitch and Potter on his broom, I turned upside down and let my hand dangle until I felt cool metal in my palm. I had closed my hand, spun back around and lifted my hand high, proud that I had beaten the great James Potter at his own game. We still lost but I knew he was furious that I had snatched it right before his hand was there.  
  
At my words though, his face lit up. "You're pimply Alexandra? That puny little seeker from last year? My, my. Merlin, you've definitely changed." His eyes traveled down my body and I felt a bit self-conscious.  
  
I growled as he and Black sniggered. "Yes, Potter is it?" I said in his tone of voice. "Still after Lily Evans I hear. Can't even get a date from the girl who shags everyone." I knew it was a low blow, using Lily against him, and I know she was truly a nice girl and had never shagged anyone (that I knew of), but the look on his face made my day. "And you," I said turning towards Black, "Sirius Black. Still being a man-whore? Trying to make up for the love Mummy never gave you?" That was harsh. Everyone knew Sirius had been disowned by his family, but I couldn't stop myself, even with Carter telling me to shut it.  
  
I turned and walked away, broom in one hand, bat in the other. But I heard a gasp and quickly dropped them both, turning with my wand in hand (when had I pulled that out?) and silently disarming the two boys who had been set to hex me.  
  
"Come now boys. Try and be a little more subtle next time," I said, throwing their wands at their feet. "We really wouldn't want you to get hurt before quidditch season actually starts." My voice was sarcastically sweet and I gave them a smile. They growled and Black picked up his wand. Potter left his there and I sighed.  
  
Black looked at me, anger in his grey eyes. "Yeah, wouldn't want to get a black eye like you now would I?" I automatically put a hand up to my eye. I thought it had healed. "Who did that? Your boyfriend?"  
  
I flinched as the word boyfriend. "I- I-" But I couldn't come up with a response.  
  
"I hit her with my bat. And that's ex-boyfriend you toss pot." Charlie to my rescue again.  
  
"Lexi. Charlie. Stop." Carter muttered. "Fine Potter. How about this. Friendly game? Winner gets the field during Gryffindor and Ravenclaw practices for the next two weeks." He put out his hand to silence the Gryffindors and Potter sneered at it before finally grasping it and shaking.  
  
"Deal."  
  
I smiled. A game? Games always gave me a rush. Picking up the broom and bat I had let go of to pull out my wand, I quickly mounted the broom and looked at Charlie. She smiled and winked at me. Leaping off the ground on her broom, she flew forwards, knocking Sirius Black on the head with her bat that dangled aimlessly from her hand. I giggled and he glared at me.  
  
Shrugging at him as if to say 'What are you going to do,' I sprang to the air and circled Potter and Carter who were laying out ground rules. Tuning out, I slowly scanned the pitch for the snitch we had let out earlier during practice.  
  
It was an old habit but it always helped. Especially if I could quickly point it out to Tom. While I didn't doubt his ability, I still didn't know how capable he was.  
  
A noise from behind me made me spin around and hit the bludger racing at me towards the closest blob of red. I smiled as Sirius Black's easy smirk vanished as he maneuvered away from the bloody ball. He scowled but I stuck my tongue out at him. Smooth Lexi, I told myself. Smooth.  
  
I don't know why I hated the Gryffindors as much as I did. Actually, I don't hate the Gryffindors. I just hate the Marauders. In fourth year, Potter had knocked me off my broom and I woke up in the hospital wing three days later with a mild concussion.  
  
No apology either but that wasn't completely it now.  
  
Black had slept with the majority of the girls in our year, but then again, I was never really close to any of them. Remus scared me with his animalesque eyes and Peter was twitchy and was never really social but they had never done something bad to me. I had never felt such loathing for them before. I guess they just remind me of…  
  
No. I can't go there. It's been a week. Best to let it go. I flew back into position as Carter and Potter stepped back. I touched down right beside Carter and he handed me the quaffle. I knew what I had to do. As everyone else lifted off, I stood grounded.  
  
Taking my broomstick and mounting it, I put the bat under my left arm and held the quaffle in my right. Throwing the quaffle into the air, I whistled and took off myself. Blue and red were all over the field and I laughed gleefully as I swooped here and there, hitting a bludger every once in a while.  
  
At one point though, it became obvious that the Gryffindor beaters were playing dirty. Aiming the bludger at players who weren't playing, such as our keeper and our seeker, they hit the ruddy balls when we had our backs turned. Amelia Givens, one of our chasers, was lucky to keep her skull intact as she dipped when the other Gryffindor beater, Carl Spinn, a lanky fourth year with white-blond hair and dark, stormy eyes, narrowly missed her with his bat. I ground my teeth together and looked at Charlie.  
  
"I'll watch our backs," I said and she nodded, her blue eyes shining. "I'll pass them to you and you create havoc." She nodded again and we flew off. Spinn hit a bludger at Amelia and I quickly swooped in and hit it, seconds before it would have hit her. I saw it travel to Charlie who instantly smashed it towards the Gryffindor chasers, scattering them.  
  
Amelia gave me a thankful look and blasted off towards Carter and Jackson Ortega, the third chaser, her long mane of red hair trailing behind her. Quickly, I raced over to where a bludger had been aimed towards Tom and redirected it back towards Charlie. I felt Tom fly by me, whispering 'Snitch' as he passed and I tensed.  
  
Quickly, I sent a bludger towards Black and Potter who were conversing about some strategic plan they had. They scattered and glared at me. Black was just about to fly over and yell at me when I pointed up. Sure enough, their faces dropped and I whistled to signal the end of the game as I knew Tom had gotten the snitch. Turning I saw his face overrun with ecstasy and he flew down to hover beside me.  
  
"I did it!" He cried and I hugged him as best I could even though we were flying. "I can't believe it. I thought for sure Carter had made a mistake picking me over you even if you are an amazing beater."  
  
I laughed. "Tommy boy, you were excellent at tryouts. I bet I couldn't have done better today."  
  
He beamed and flew down to where our screaming team danced on the pitch. I didn't know how many points there were when Tom caught the snitch, but evidently we had won. Sending a smirk in Potter and Black's direction, I swooped down to celebrate with my team. Carter came over and hugged me, evidently glad we had beaten Gryffindor. His blue eyes shone with giddiness. I had a huge smile on my face until I heard the snide voice of a sore loser.  
  
"Just go celebrate with Diggory, cheat."  
  
I spun, fire in my emerald eyes. "That's EX-boyfriend you arse."  
  
Black's grey eyes bore into mine. "And what made you end it? The eye?" Snickering, he turned and my hand immediately flew up to touch my still bruised eye.  
  
I tried to make sense of it in my head. That first comment sounded like a guess but the second comment about my eye made me shiver. He knew. But I never… Lily! I thought with a jolt. That tart Lily! I knew it! I felt a tear race down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away before my teammates saw.  
  
Running towards the Ravenclaw change rooms, I let the tears run freely as my back was turned to everyone else on the pitch. Finally getting through the door or the girls change room, I found a corner and slumped down, sobbing.  
   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
   
  
  
_"Amos! I told you! We are done. Over. We aren't together anymore. I'm done with your lies, your cheating, your drinking, your everything." My voice rang clear through the empty classroom as the blond, blue-eyed boy in front of me began to shake._  
  
_"Alexandra you knew that's how I was when we began dating. It's not my fault you can't let go once in a while."_  
  
_I shrieked in annoyance. "This isn't about letting go Amos. This is about you wanting to sleep with me, me refusing, and you running off to go shag a random girl instead of me."_  
  
_His blue eyes burned with anger and before I knew it, I was on the ground, searing pain blazing from my eye. Tears ran down my face but I made no noise. Amos, my Amos, hit me? I looked up at him and saw the pain and fear in my eyes reflected in his._  
  
_"Alexandra, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry Alexandra. I don't know what came over me."_  
  
_I scrambled back as he took a step towards me. Guilt flashed over his face. I got up slowly, my eyes on him the entire time. He took another step forward and I flinched. He stopped and I turned, running out of the room. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the classroom. I screamed, the sobs that should have come out when he hit me ringing in my ears._  
  
_I prepared myself for another hit when Amos went rigid and keeled over. I looked up and saw Lily Evans, her green eyes burning almost as brightly as her fiery red hair. Her wand was raised and she grasped my arm, pulling me towards her. She put her arms around me and let me cry. I was glad she was the one there._  
  
_She let me cry until I felt better, never lifting the spell off Amos until I was ready to be escorted to the hospital wing. Even then, she threatened to castrate him if he came near me again. Leaving him in the classroom, she brought me to Madame Pomfrey and her daughter Poppy to sort out my eye and my hysterics._  
  
_"Don't tell anyone," I whispered to her when Madame and Poppy had left me alone with her, letting me stay there until Professor Dumbledore showed up. She gave me an incredulous look. "I can't have them pitying me."_  
  
_She nodded and stayed with me until Professor Dumbledore arrived. The next day she came up to me. "Alexandra, you really shouldn't keep it a secret," she said in a hushed voice._  
  
_"Keep what a secret? I got hit by my friend's beater bat," I said as I walked away._  
   
  


* * *

  
  
  
   
  
  
"Alexandra!" Carter yelled and I ignored him. "Alexandra!" he yelled again.  
  
I gripped my knees tighter from where I sat in the corner and screamed. "It's Lexi you ignorant arse!"  
  
"Well sorry Lexi," he spat out my name as if it insulted him and I noted the obvious sarcasm, "but we still have practice. And for your antics before the game, you get to do 20 laps." I swore, very loudly. "Without your broom."  
  
I said some choice words to him but I could hear his footsteps run off to the rest of the team. Standing up, I wiped my tears on my kit and did my best to seem composed before walking out of the changing room. Sighing, I stepped onto the worn out track around the pitch and began to run.  
  
Although Carter thought it was a punishment, I loved to run. Of course, I wasn't very good at it, but I loved it. The wind in my hair and the small amount of effort it took to forget everything that surrounded me was truly the best thing after I got into an argument. Lapping the pitch already, I heard harsh laughter from where the Gryffindor changing rooms were. Ignoring them, I was set to run past when I saw Black take out his wand.  
  
The hair on my arms and on the back of my neck stood up and I tensed. Then I smirked. He wanted to look good in front of his team? I'd make sure that didn't happen. Running past, I saw the small flick of his wand and deduced his jinx was aimed at my legs. He was probably trying to trip me. Cartwheeling, everything seemed to move slower as something whipped past the small hairs dangling down from my head and in between my arms that were supporting my weight.  
  
Smirking again, I gave him the finger when I landed it and kept running. Not looking back, I felt proud that finally someone had stuck it to him. I saw Carter looking down at me from the air, not too far away. He gave me a thumbs up and I smiled. Speeding up, I felt a rush of adrenaline and kept going, the memory of the shocked look on the Gryffindors faces pushing away any thoughts of Amos.  
   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
   
  
  
The next morning, I woke to the familiar blue drapes that surrounded my four poster bed. Groaning, I sat up and opened the curtains to see that my roommates still weren't up. I walked like the dead towards the bathroom and gathered my things. Getting in the shower, I washed off all the grime from last night's practice. After the 20 laps, Carter had seen fit that I never took such liberties talking to his rivals. "I'm the captain," he had reminded me and I had rolled my eyes.  
  
Carter Day was so sweet, he wouldn't have been able to say half the things I had said. Sure he was a tough captain and was more than ready to say blunt things when you really needed sympathy and not facts, but he was sweet. Rivalry just wasn't really him. Even in quidditch he was nice to everyone.  
  
Well, as nice as his 'I'm team captain and I'm harsh and mean and all the other teams suck and should sod off because we're going to win' attitude let him. But last night he had really taken the piss and demanded I do the most strenuous exercises he could think of. Blast him!  
  
I was so tired that I barely had enough time to change into my pajamas until I fell on my bed, asleep. And now my linens probably smelled horrid. I was beginning to regret my outburst from yesterday as I was shampooing my hair but then I remembered the smirks they'd given me when I was running and my blood boiled. Perhaps I wasn't as over it as I thought. I sighed and rinsed my brown locks of the shampoo I had stolen from Charlie. It was her fault actually. If she didn't buy such nice smelling products I wouldn't have to steal them.  
  
When I got out of the shower I had to wipe the mirror as it had steamed up. Putting on mascara, I quickly left the bathroom to my groggy roommates and got dressed in my uniform as quickly as possible. Running down to the common room, I saw a large bronze clock on one of the mantels and was alarmed that it was seven in the morning.  
  
Usually, I never got out of bed until eight and now, here I was, up and ready to start the day at seven in the morning. Sighing, I walked out of the common room, and down the long winding staircase. Ravenclaw Tower was so high up, it took a little while to get to the Great Hall. I walked quickly, my stomach growling. Hopefully there would be bacon. I liked bacon. More than I liked most people.  
  
As I skipped down the final steps to my much wanted breakfast, I noticed a few other people enjoying the early morning food. Professor Dumbledore was one of them, but Dumbledore had always been at the head table from the moment the food appeared to the moment it vanished. I always found it strange but at this moment, it felt right.  
  
Only a few other people were at the tables. There were no Slytherins, a second year Hufflepuff eating while simultaneously finishing what I could only assume was his overdue assignment, three Gryffindor girls that seemed as if they were in fourth year following Remus Lupin, another one of the marauders, who was sitting at table, reading, and none other than Amos Diggory.  
  
I froze in the doorway but as I heard a tiny cough, I looked up to see Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling, beckoning me. I started to walk to the head table stiffly. I saw Remus Lupin look up from his book, his eyes following every move I made. When I was finally in front of Dumbledore, he smiled.  
  
"Miss James, I distinctly remember you telling me that you would not go looking for trouble after the Mr. Diggory mishap. And now I hear you've been a bad girl on the quidditch pitch," he said and if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn he sounded disappointed.  
  
"It's actually Lexi, Professor. Or Alexandra. Anything but James. And I was provoked."  
  
"Well I'm sorry Miss Lexi. And provoked? Perhaps you should keep your emotions in check my dear. Showing weakness is never a good thing." He smiled. "And may I ask why the change in name Miss Lexi?"  
  
I took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "I think I need a change, sir. I need to distance myself from certain people." His shocking blue eyes traveled over to Lupin. "My father." I explained and his eyes widened in concern.  
  
"Yes your Aunt wrote to me asking if you wanted to come home the day they were going to his grave. I assumed you went. Your Professors told me that you hadn't been to class. But Miss Lexi, that was at the beginning of term. Surely this isn't what it's about."  
  
"I stayed in bed. Five years and I stayed in bed," I said my eyes watering. "He reminded me of Cami and Mum and then with Amos," I said, my voice cracking, "Amos reminded me of him. And I need to stop thinking of them. I need to feel different from them. I can't stay stuck in the past like Cami did or I'll go mad. So I don't think using that name will help my cause."  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm sure that it will. But Miss Lexi, please remember that name is also the name of a very nice, intelligent person living in these walls. And the name of yet another who has passed on."  
  
I turned and glared at Lupin who had been doing the like to me. "I don't quite see the appeal in having the same name as one of them," I said viciously. Then, turning, I looked up at him in confusion. "But the other?"  
  
"Oh not James Potter. Though I enjoy the pranks he pulls, I would hardly call him intelligent." He laughed at that and I giggled. "I meant you dear Miss Lexi. That is your name and though it was also your father's and your sister's, it is still yours. And it was once your mother's. Will you be willing to give up part of you, and in a sense, part of your mother, just to let go of the horrible things associated with that name that happened in the past?" I shook my head. "Just remember Miss Lexi, good memories and bad memories are associated with almost any name."  
  
"I bet no bad memories are associated with your name." I mumbled so quietly I was surprised when he reacted.  
  
"Oh dear Miss Lexi, there are more bad memories associated with my name than with most any name. But there are far more good ones and that is what counts I believe. A particular memory with your name involves an automobile if I'm not mistaken."  
  
I giggled. "Thank you, Funny Bearded Man."  
  
His eyes twinkled and I turned, slamming into someone's chest. I looked up to see Amos looking down at me. Stepping back quickly, I saw guilt flash over his face before I pushed past him and walked away.  
  
"Alexandra!" He yelled.  
  
"Mr. Diggory, I urge you to leave Miss Lexi alone for the time being. I am aware of the circumstances of your relationship at the moment and I think it best if you tread carefully for the time being." I heard Dumbledore say and my heart swelled. He really was the best headmaster to ever walk these corridors.  
  
Running out of the Great Hall, I slammed into another person and fell. Looking up I saw Charlie rolling her eyes at me. I gave her a weak smile and she helped me up and guided me back to the Ravenclaw table. She obviously saw something was wrong and didn't push me. I was glad this magnificent person was my best friend.  
  
We ate, but I could feel _his_ eyes glowering at my back. When I looked up at Charlie though, I saw Lupin's eyebrows creased in confusion. I subconsciously gave him the finger and he got up and left to the dismay of the fourth years. I rolled my eyes and Charlie caught on. She looked over to see him leave the Great Hall and then sighed.  
  
"That slag Lily told them."  
  
Her eyes widened. "That bitch! I saw her walking down a few minutes before you ran into me muttering about talking to someone so I assume she'll be to breakfast at any time."  
  
I sniffed. "Eat your toast. Quickly, I might add. I need to talk to her."  
  
Charlie nodded and shoved her breakfast in her mouth. Very attractive Charlie. We got up, our robes billowing around us, and left the Great Hall. Walking up the stairs, Charlie began lecturing me about taking her shampoo again but I was ignoring her as I saw bouncing red curls skip down the stairs in a decidedly delightful way.  
  
"Evans!" I cried and she looked up shocked.  
  
"Don't even pretend Evans. You told the poor sap trailing at your heels what happened with Diggory. And his insufferable friends. I thought you were nice Evans. But obviously you don't get that I didn't want to make a big deal of this. It's my business what happened and I don't need you opening your larger than average mouth and spreading things. Your legs do most of that anyways." Again, I felt horrible about basically saying Lily was a slag, but I was too mad to even think properly. "So why don't you just shut up and stay away from me. Stay out of my life, stay out of my sight and stay out of my relationships."  
  
With that I slapped her and her face was so shocked I ran up the stairs, racing for our common room, not registering her cries. She obviously had to say something but I wasn't going to let her become a bigger part of my life. I ran off, Charlie at my heels.


	2. Bets, Awkward Encounters and Prongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now, unless I want to show everything to the giant squid, I now must win a bet my ever loving friends have wagered. Oh how fun it is to be a marauder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Okay, so this is written through Sirius' point of view. I may or may not do more of his POV in the present, but this just gives the story more context. Also, I really do wish I could get some reviews. So help an aspiring fan fiction writer out? I would be SOOOOOOOO appreciative. Also, if you do, I may send you the new chapters before I submit them. Sorta a beta thingy. Anyways, hope you like it. Third chapter's up and more to come on that author's note. MWAH!

**SIRIUS'S POV**  
  
  
  
"Merlin! That girl is a bitch!" I said to Remus and Peter. James nodded, obviously understanding right away. "I mean, to say I shag girls because I didn't get love from my mother? Idiotic. Crude. She's an arse."  
  
James nodded again. "And to say that about my Lily petal? She's a tart."  
  
Remus scowled. "You were being quite rude yourselves if I've heard correctly. I mean, commenting on Professor Flitwick's height? That's a new low even for you."  
  
I in turn scowled. We were just poking fun. The marauders never meant anything when they were joking around with someone.  
  
"Whatever. Let's just go get some breakfast."  
  
My friends nodded and we strode into the great hall, everyone's eyes on us. It was good being a marauder. Even though we looked different, we were all dashingly handsome.  
  
James, or rather Prongs, had amazing hair and hazel eyes that could make almost any girl faint. Any girl but Lily Evans, his one true love or something like that.  
  
I on the other hand, rugged, striking Padfoot, also had gorgeous hair that was quite similar to James' and steely grey eyes that intoxicate the ladies. I know because they've told me.  
  
Remus Lupin, werewolf extraordinaire had hair the colour of wheat, brownish-gold, and his eyes were of the same colour. Dear old Moony. The only reason he wasn't a playboy like me is because he says he has respect. Hah!  
  
And lastly Peter. Poor measly little Wormtail. A little plump, his brown hair and blue eyes were nothing to gaze at but he still got on with the girls. At least, he talked to them without them screaming in horror.  
  
Ah yes. It was good to be handsome. We walked over to our normal table and sat down to steaming piles of waffles and bacon. I grabbed a piece of toast and was just about to shove it in my mouth when Remus stopped me.  
  
"Ah come on Moony. I'm hungry here!" I complained.  
  
He smirked. "Yes. Losing to a bitch must give you a fair appetite shouldn't it?" I growled. "First, I want to point out that it's been a month. How's everyone on their bets?"  
  
I smiled. It was a marauders tradition to place a bet on each of us dashingly handsome men when we start off the school year.  
  
If we don't finish the bet by the end of the year, we have to go skinny-dipping in the Black Lake on the last day of school. If we finished the bet, we had to wait for the start of a month so we could show our progress, or lack thereof, to the rest of the group.  
  
Usually, my bet was to shag some poor unsuspecting girl and dump her high and dry.  
  
James' was usually to get Lily Evans (he had been taking dips in the lake for five years running), Remus' was usually something crazy like, moon some of the first years (finished it in third year), hit on Minnie (failed, fourth year) or get someone to utterly believe that he was gay (finished fifth year and it was his then girlfriend Marjorie Manatee and yes that was her real name), and Peter's almost always had to do with him finally getting a girlfriend (he has, like James, always gone for a swim at the end of the year).  
  
But because my conquests for the bets never really seem hard, we almost always have to get a new bet for me every month.  
  
"Now I know it has been hard for you to lose a bet," Remus started, "so I think this time, you need to get a girl in the sack. Three separate times."  
  
I scoffed. "Piece of cake Moony. Prongs, do you believe this?"  
  
James was giving me a look though. One I could only classify as devious. "Better yet Moony, Padfoot has to get a certain girl to shag him three times."  
  
Peter gave a hearty chuckle but quickly turned it into a cough when I turned to him. Considering he was the only one on my side of the table and I've been known to hit certain people, I wasn't that surprised he went for the subtle route. Turning back to Remus and James, I smiled.  
  
"Just give me a name brothers."  
  
James gave Remus a wicked smile. "Alexandra James."  
  
All the blood ran from my face. "You can't be serious!" I whisper-yelled. "I have to shag pimply Alexandra?"  
  
Peter giggled. "No you're Sirius. Padfoot honestly, I can't believe you'd forget your own name."  
  
I growled at him but he just smirked. "Remus, you've got to be joking. This seems too coincidental that I just got into a fight with the bitch and now I have to shag her."  
  
Remus smiled. "It's no coincidence my friend. James told me everything that happened last night and we decided as a unit that this is now what you have to do if you don't want to show everything you've got to the giant squid."  
  
I groaned but James spoke up. "At least she's filled out. And her pimples are gone. She's actually fit when you think about it. Of course, Lily is so much prettier, but we could have picked worse."  
  
"You actually couldn't have. The girl is a nightmare. Getting her to shag me once would be a rare occurrence, let alone three times."  
  
"Looks like old Padfoot might be taking a dip with us this year," Peter said to James.  
  
Peter's bet was again whether or not he could actually get a girlfriend, and James' was still whether or not he could actually get Lily as his girlfriend. No one was confident they'd win.  
  
Well, James still thought he had a shot and Peter was still trying, but no one else really expected any sort of result. Remus, on the other hand, was bet he couldn't shag a girl by the end of the year.  
  
Dear old Remus. That 'respect' made him a 17 year old virgin that could have his pick of girls if he really did want a shag. I growled at them and they laughed. It wasn't that intimidating to them seeing as they knew why I did that and that my bark was worse than my bite.  
  
Sulking, I took a piece of bacon and savagely attacked it. Almost any girl in the school and I wouldn't have a problem. Sure she would be hanging off me for a month but really.  
  
Wasn't that a small price to pay to make sure my manhood wasn't on display for the giant squid and any other unpleasant creatures that lived in the black lake? But this girl?  
  
We called her pimply Alexandra because she was pimply (obviously). Never had I seen her so fit.  
  
Her face had cleared up and her brown curls were shiny but not from greasy product as some other girls were. It didn't look like she had makeup which surprised me when I had first seen her. Her green eyes were striking and made me think of Lily's. Though she was freckled, it was quite endearing.  
  
And as James had mentioned, she had filed out in all the right places. But her attitude was so… so bitchy yesterday. I honestly have no idea why she would be so rude but then again, we did say we had never seen her before even if we've been in some of her classes since the start of first year.  
  
And James did mention her figure in a somewhat unpleasant way for her, but that was James. Anyways, I thought to myself, this was completely unfair. While she was very fit, and I admit she's fit, her scowl just makes me shudder. I mean, who likes a moody girl? Not Sirius Black.  
  
"Sirius is in his head again," Peter said. I jerked and he laughed. "Finally decided to grace us with your attention Padfoot?"  
  
I growled. "I still don't get why it has to be her"  
  
James scoffed. "Because this is the only bet we have a chance of winning."  
  
"Anyways, there's something up with Diggory and her. I don't know what but Dumbledore's involved," Remus said and I jerked.  
  
"You don't think…" I said, looking at James.  
  
He shrugged. "Could be a pregnancy scare. Didn't that happen with a girl in Lily's dorm? Dumbledore was in on that too."  
  
I shrugged. "Whatever. It's not as if I have to talk to her. Pillow talk isn't really my thing."  
  
Remus laughed. "You prat. You have to shag her three times. A normal girl would want some sort of relationship after the first time. But this girl? You're going to have to work the Sirius charm on her before doing anything to her."  
  
I exhaled, exasperated with my half-wit friends. Tearing apart a pancake with my fork, I glowered at Remus while James had suddenly gotten very concerned for something, or better yet, someone, in the distance.  
  
"Lily Pads," he cried, "what's wrong?"  
  
I turned to see the fire-engine red curls racing towards us. She looked mad. I was glad she was on James' side of the table. I'd been slapped by Lily Evans before. It was not fun.  
  
She stalked up to James and slapped him. "You ignorant prat! What did you do?" She screamed before sitting right between James and Remus. "I was just attacked by Alexandra James in the hallway." I groaned. "Oh what's wrong with the man-whore? Not very fond of the girl? Well she slapped me so just shut your mouth and tell me what you did."  
  
"She slapped you?" James said in disgust. "She actually slapped Lily. My Lily. Bitch move."  
  
"Yes bitch move. And then she called me a slag. What the hell did you arse hats say to her?"  
  
Peter spoke up. "Well Sirius…" He cowered as she turned her glare on him. "Sirius and James said she looked fit, they didn't recognize her, they said her boyfriend hit her, then they sent a jinx at her and now we're using her in a bet."  
  
I swore quietly, hitting Peter in the ribs. No one was supposed to know about the marauder bets. But Lily hadn't cared. Her face had gone unnaturally white at the mention of Alexandra's boyfriend. She tried to stand up but Remus grabbed her arm and made her sit back down, telling her he wouldn't let he go until she explained.  
  
"I can't tell you," she hissed.  
  
Remus scowled at her. "Obviously you have to, seeing as we were the ones who created this debacle for you."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "I was patrolling a week or so ago and I heard something loud from an abandoned classroom. I walked in to see Alexandra on the floor and Diggory over her. He had hit her. Then she got up and ran towards me. I don't think either of them even realized I was there." Her voice was hushed and we all slowly nodded.  
  
She continued. "Well, he sort of grabbed her and pulled her back to him and I was scared he was going to hit her again so I may have totally petrified him. Then she was crying so I hugged her and then when she wanted to go to the hospital wing, I took the spell off Diggory…"  
  
"You shouldn't have," Remus hissed.  
  
"And threatened that if he ever came near her again I was going to cut off his manhood and then shove it up his arse."  
  
We all looked stunned by that. Lily may threaten James, but she was too nice to say anything like that.  
  
"Then I brought her to the hospital wing as she was hysterical, and waited until Dumbledore came to talk to her. She made me promised not to tell anyone. But obviously," she said, glaring at me, "someone couldn't keep his mouth shut and now she thinks I've told you guys. Well, I suppose now I have, but you can't tell anyone." She looked terrified. "Dumbledore's sorted it out but you shouldn't say those things to her anymore. She'll get even angrier at me and I count on her to be my partner in potions you see." I rolled my eyes as her face scrunched up. "Hold on! What did you say about a bet?"  
  
"Oh look at the time," said Remus.  
  
"Erm, I forgot my knickers in the bathroom!" Exclaimed Peter.  
  
"These eggs are not sitting with me." I said, looking disdainfully at my plate that was filled with bacon, toast and pancakes.  
  
Although we had made up reasonable excuses (well Peter's was a little far fetched), James completely panicked. "I need to go water my owl. Erm, talk to my broom. Erm, shower my monkey."  
  
We all stared at him and he shrugged. Then the four of us looked at Lily and said in unison, "Catch you later then?"  
  
We made a break for it and separated as we heard her footsteps echo behind us. She must have followed one of the others because when I finally stopped, she was nowhere near. I panted with my tongue out and almost laughed.  
  
My dog like tendencies really showed when it came down to it. No one really noticed but us, and when someone commented on it, it really was funny. I slowly looked around a corner and to my delight, I didn't see the fiery girl I knew was trying to kill us.  
  
Or at least get us to tell her what the bets were. I sighed and turned around, smashing in to someone. They fell and I glared at them although I knew I was at fault. A small girl, well average height but everyone was small to me, with dark brown hair was on the ground and I immediately felt sorry.  
  
I gave her my hand to help her up but instead, she gave me her own glare and I stiffened.  
  
"James," I spat.  
  
"Watch where you're going, Black."  
  
I scoffed. "You're the one that hit me."  
  
"And I'm the one on the ground," she said, then lowered her voice so much I could only hear because of my canine hearing. "Again."  
  
I instantly stiffened. "I'm sorry," I said.  
  
She snorted. "Likely. Sorry for what exactly? Being such a –"  
  
"For saying your boyfriend hit you. I shouldn't have assumed that and I damn sure shouldn't have said it."  
  
"Erm, thanks." She looked confused. "I'm sorry I said that you sleep with girls because you never got love from your mother." It stung even as she said it now. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "That means Lily… I didn't mean to hit her! Merlin's pants!"  
  
"Don't worry," I said, grabbing her forearm, even as she glared, and pulling her up. "She knows why you got upset and she made sure we never brought up the 'incident,' as she calls it, again."  
  
Her green eyes, so clouded with hatred and fear it was folly to assume they were similar to Lily's, narrowed. "So you didn't know when you said those comments?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But you know of the 'incident,'" she said, mimicking my bunny ear motion, "now."  
  
"Well…"  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted that slag. Or you. So let me say this now," she hissed. "If you tell anyone, and I do mean anyone, about it, I will find a way to get you back. Don't underestimate me Black." With that she turned and walked past me.  
  
I rolled my eyes. Girls. Always with the mood swings. Although I did have my fair share of them so I couldn't really complain. But really, this girl was nutters. Confused one moment, sad the next, then she became angry at the drop of a hat. Couldn't she pick one emotion for five minutes?  
  
And here I am, I thought, having barely talked to her and I realize she's not sane. I sighed and walked the other way, smacking into another person, although this time we both stayed on our feet. Looking up, I saw familiar hazel eyes framed by familiar black glasses.  
  
"'Sup Prongs?"  
  
"About the whole Lily thing," he said sheepishly. "I may or may not have told her about the whole bet thing."  
  
"What?" I screeched rather unmanly-like. "How could you tell her? That's the marauder's secret! Well, one of them."  
  
Although I liked Lily, and James certainly did, the bets were not something I was quite particularly proud of. Sure I was thought a stud because I slept with a load of girls, but really it was all for the bets. I had no particular liking to shagging random girls when I wanted to.  
  
"Well," he said, deliberately tapping a finger against his lips, "she did do some pretty good persuading."  
  
I laughed raucously. "That's my little Prongsie-Wongsie. Also giving away information for the smallest little kiss."  
  
"It wasn't just a little kiss if I do say so myself. Dear Lily was quite adamant to know everything for some unknown reason and I'm not much of an informant." He scoffed.  
  
I smirked. After so many years, James finally got what he wanted. Granted it wasn't a promise to marry him and to have his children, but at least Lily showed interest.  
  
I clapped him on the back and winked. Our charming James Potter just snogged the girl of his dreams. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride.  
  
Every time one of us snogged a new girl, or even an old one, we were proud for him. It was this unspoken brotherly bond. Be proud for the lucky bastard. Shagging merited even more pride, but with Lily, you would take what you got.  
  
Although we had never really been proud of Peter. At least for that matter.  
  
I felt bad for the poor sod. Chicks weren't repulsed by him, but he never had the courage to ask a girl out and none asked him out. We made do though. We got him to prank the Slytherins a lot and rejoiced when he pulled off a particularly evil one.  
  
"Well good for you, you numpty. At least you have a chance with your bet. Mine is… What?" I asked as his evil smirk made its way back. "What has the devilish mind of James Lillian Potter come up with next?"  
  
"Nope," he said to my attempt to guess his middle name, quite horribly if I might add. "And yes my mind is devilish and yes my mind has come up with something. What if the great Sirius Black has feelings for the infamous Alexandra James?"  
  
"Okay, uno mate, I hardly know her. And dos, no way in hell."  
  
"Yeah sure, you nutter. But we all know you think she's fit."  
  
I smirked. "Yeah she's fit but I mean, not that fit."  
  
He pulled a face, his eyebrows scrunching up in thought. "Then why do you seem to think about her a lot?" His eyes suddenly opened wide. "You've already tried to sleep with you haven't you? And she said no. The one girl who's said no."  
  
"Shut up you tosser."  
  
"She totally did! Wait. Is she that girl from the first party of the year? The one who totally ditched you for Diggory?"  
  
"Yeah, although now we know why," I said a little begrudgingly.  
  
I had tried to seduce Alexandra during the first party of the year but she blew me off. Although she was pretty drunk and hadn't remembered it, I had almost kissed her when she sobered up and ran off. Peter and I saw her ten minutes later sucking Diggory's face.  
  
"And now you hate her. But you are also obsessed with the chick. You're hatesessed!"  
  
"Uh, that's not a word James."  
  
"It so is. I just made it up."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Exactly."  
  
"Hey my friend, the Marauders' Dictionary has no limits. And remember," he paused for 'dramatic effect,' "I am the keeper of the Marauders' Dictionary."  
  
I rolled my eyes. James' newest thing was making up words for his 'Marauders' Dictionary.' He was sure it was going to be published someday.  
  
Peter and Remus went along with his word play but I found it stupid. Who needs to make up words when we have a ton of them already?  
  
Remus tells me he's just coping with the whole Lily fiasco from the first party of the year. And yes, same party. Actually, a lot of things happened at that party, I thought.  
  
I dismissed it from my mind and just put my arm around James' shoulders. We began to walk down the hallway, James telling me every word in his Marauders' Dictionary from the past week as I ignored him and winked at a tall curvaceous fifth year Gryffindor.  
  
Her blonde hair reached over her chest and her heart-shaped bangs accentuated her blue eyes. They weren't all that pretty though. Green ones were much better.  
  
Wait. What? Green eyes? Blue eyes have always been my thing.  
  
I slightly shook my head and gave her an impossibly gorgeous smile if I do say so myself. She smiled back and giggled.  
  
James was still talking as I turned my head to stare at her arse. A smack to the head made me turn around, hatred burning in my eyes.  
  
"I was telling you about Lily mate. I thought you'd be interested," he whined.  
  
I rolled my eyes. "James, I'm not interested in any story about Lily unless, one, she's now in league with You-Know-Who which isn't likely as she's not quite up to his crazy standards, or if you've accidentally gotten her pregnant. Actually, that last one is less likely than the first if you think about it."  
  
He scowled and I shrugged. Taking my arm off his shoulder and patting him on the back, I skipped ahead towards the Fat Lady.  
  
"Phoenix tears," I said and the portrait swung open to reveal the portrait hole.  
  
James was most likely behind me but I skipped up to the room even as he yelled my name. I really couldn't stand to hear anything more about Lily.  
  
Running up the stairs, I quickly burst through the door and jumped on my bed, the second farthest from the door. Letting my head be engulfed by the pillow, I closed my eyes and gradually began pulling my blankets out from under me just to pull them over me. Getting up early had never really been my strong point.  
  
Just as I was comfy, the door slammed open and a second later, a body had vaulted onto my bed. Punching me, James began cackling as I groaned.  
  
"Get up you numpty!" He screamed. "We've got Potions this morning. Lily's promised to be my partner today."  
  
"James, she always says she'll be your partner and then ends up working with someone else."  
  
"Not today mate! If we get to class early, she'll have to sit with me to honor her promise."  
  
I rolled my eyes even if he couldn't see it as my head was covered by the blanket.  
  
"Don't you roll your eyes at me Sirius Black."  
  
"How did you know I rolled my eyes?"  
  
He scoffed. "I know you Padfoot. Of course you would roll your eyes at that."  
  
"Fine, fine," I said, taking my head out from under the blankets. "How much time do we have? 15 minutes?"  
  
"45 actually. Got to get there nice and early right?"  
  
I said some choice words at him before giving up and following him to Potions, hoping that Remus and Peter would get here soon so that I wouldn't have to be subjected to more of his 'Lily Evans is my dream girl' talk.


	3. The Party: Alexandra James

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what did happen during that Gryffindor party? This is Alexandra's tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Author's note:
> 
> Okay, so basically, the Gryffindor party will play a HUGE role in this story. So, every few chapters, I will insert a chapter all about the party. This is told from Alexandra's point of view, but I will also have Sirius, Charlie, Remus, Peter, James and even Lily tell their sides of the story as well. Thanks!

My head was buried in my pillow, my body contorted into the foetal position, my physical way of holding myself together. I had been crying for so long I just heaved instead of actually having tears run down my face. My pillow was still wet though. I heard a door open and close. It was Charlie. She had been in the shower for at least an hour. That was unusual for her.  
  
She wasn't the type of girl who would ever take over 20 minutes in the shower. She had three older sisters and two older brothers. All were out of Hogwarts already but she maintained that strange mind set that only allowed her to stay in the washroom for 15 minutes max.  
  
I didn't stay on that thought as more sobs racked through my body and my mind jumped back to Amos. He had said we were over. Not that we were on a break but that we were over. It had been over a year since we started dating and now it was over.  
  
He wouldn't ever bring me to Hogsmeade and buy me a butterbeer again. Never again would we go into Zonko's together, laughing at the prank supplies. Honeydukes trips would never end in him buying me a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean and us walking away, trying different kinds, kissing each other whenever we got a particularly bad one. I sighed, my breath shaky and uneven.  
  
Happy memories of him hurt me more than the recollection of him breaking it off. Because I knew that in a week, he would be doing the same things with another girl. Amos was a boy that lots of girls fancied. And because our fight had been publicized and our break up had happened in the middle of the Hufflepuff common room, now most of the school would know about it.  
  
Hufflepuff sixth years weren't known for being secretive. I felt someone sit at the edge of my bed and I looked up, catching the red-rimmed, ice-blue eyes that belonged to my best friends. Something was wrong. Her eyes didn't sparkle like they normally did. She was sad.  
  
"Charlie, is everything okay?" I asked, hiccoughing.  
  
She shook her head. "No, not really. I – I just wanted to tell you that…" She paused.  
  
"Go on."  
  
"I'm really hurting because of you. To see you like this hurts me," she said decidedly.  
  
I felt a pang in my already hurting heart. Of course, Charlie was lying but I knew she didn't want to talk about it right now. Charlie was secretive, even with me and I let her take her time to tell me anything. It's what best friends did. She moved closer to me and put her arms around me. She shook with me, both of us crying but neither one of us making any noise. Her tears mingled with my fresh ones and we stayed there for a little while before we heard the doorknob turn.  
  
She sat up and patted my head, wiping at her eyes. Our roommate Kendra walked in just as Charlie turned around and walked back into the washroom. Unless Kendra had noticed Charlie's wet hair, it would be a safe assumption that Charlie was just having a shower. But I knew what she was really doing.  
  
Taking a shower had always calmed her down and hid the fact that she had been crying. The same thing happened with me. Having a shower after a long cry gave me a shield against the nosier girls in our grade. None of them ever suspected anything was wrong with me if I did that. But Charlie always knew when I wasn't feeling well. Then again, it was Charlie. She was my best friend.  
  
"Are you going to the Gryffindor party tonight?" Kendra's musical voice asked. "I'm going and I'm getting ready in Lily's dorm. If you are going though, remember not to be too much of a drag like last time okay?"  
  
I clenched my teeth. Kendra was not one of my favourite people. Her best friend Lily wasn't either. The both of them were sort of slags. Kendra more than Lily. Apparently the farthest Lily's ever been with a boy is strictly above the belt. Kendra is far more friendly than Lily.  
  
And tonight was the annual back-to-school party night. Sure it wasn't exactly the start of the year but back-to-school party night always happened a month in. That way the first years wouldn't get lost and we wouldn't have stragglers running into common rooms after hours to join in the fun.  
  
The Gryffindor parties were always the best parties. I had been once, last year, and hadn't actually drunk anything, but from what I could tell, they were the best parties ever. Amos had told me about the Hufflepuff parties which were really just a celebration of the first years. They were over by nine and never left a mess.  
  
The Ravenclaw parties were bad too but not so bad. More than half the people who attended sat in a corner and either did homework, played wizard chess or talked about school. Ravenclaw. Are our parties amazingly fun or what?  
  
But the Gryffindor parties. There was always alcohol and a fair bit of drugs when you got near the end of it, but that was around two in the morning, and they always enchanted the common room so that none of the teachers could hear the ear-blasting music or see the pulsating lights coming from within.  
  
I hadn't wanted to go up until this point. But what with Charlie being the wreck she was, and me being the emotional catastrophe I was, drinks and dancing seemed like the best idea.  
  
"Actually Kendra," I started, "I was wondering if you could help me get ready for the Gryffindor party. I've decided to go all out and I need someone like you to help me."  
  
I thought she was about to burst. "Oh Merlin, of course Alexandra! Now that you're done with Diggory, the best thing to do is get him jealous." I rolled my eyes but Kendra continued. "I know he'll be there so you need to look hot. Smoking to be exact. I want you to look like the end of a cigarette."  
  
I rolled my eyes again. "Kendra, it's not for a few hours at least. We don't need to get ready until, what, an hour beforehand?"  
  
Kendra looked horrified. "Alexandra, I assume that if you're going, Charlie's going, so I'll need you both to have a shower and not the one like Charlie's having to cover up the fact that she's been crying. Yes I know you both do that, hell I do that too," she said at my shocked face.  
  
"You do that?"  
  
"Not important. Then we'll have to dry your hair, but a simple drying charm will do the trick, find the perfect outfit for you both, do your hair nicely and hers too I might add, put on the perfect makeup for you both and that doesn't include me leaving to Lily's to get ready myself."  
  
I shook my head. "It'll take that long?"  
  
She nodded as Charlie came out of the washroom. As soon as she saw us talking without shouting or even looking mad, she stopped, a towel wrapped around her as she stood in the doorway.  
  
Kendra turned and stormed towards her. "Get back in there and use my shower supplies. Whichever set you want, but you will use all of it, down to the shaving cream and the perfume."  
  
Charlie looked at me, confusion in her eyes.  
  
"Do what she says Charlie. Don't worry I know what's happening."  
  
Charlie stood there anyway, clutching the towel to her chest as if her life depended on it. Finally, Kendra pushed her back into the washroom, grabbed a hold of the towel and closed the door so much only her arm protruded. Then, she looked towards me, yanked the towel from Charlie and slammed the door shut.  
  
"What the fuck?" Charlie screamed, pounding at the door. "Kendra I just had a shower."  
  
Kendra scoffed. "Darling, that was a pity fest. I'm going to bet you stood there and cried your eyes out." A humph came from the other side of the door and Kendra smirked. Then she turned to me. "You next."  
  
After three hours of showering, drying off, getting my hair pulled at and being slathered with makeup, the moment I had been dreading had arrived. Kendra had pulled everything from my trunk and my closet and put all my clothes on my bed. Our two other roommates, Zoe and Sydney, had come and gone, obviously heading for the library. It was strange how different we all were.  
  
Charlie and I loved quidditch and we passed our classes easily. Kendra loved boys and whatever that entailed but she also passed all her classes quite easily. Zoe and Sydney passed all their classes with flying colours but they thoroughly enjoyed exams and essays and extra credit.  
  
So, needless to say, Zoe and Sydney had looked at us in disgust when they saw what we were doing. They had never gone to a back-to-school party, even the Ravenclaw one. But when Kendra had pulled out all my clothes, I felt like grimacing too.  
  
She had deemed almost all my clothes 'inappropriate' for the party although I felt they were appropriate for everyday life. Handing me a gorgeous flowing green tank top that I had purchased this summer and a pair of shorts I would call underwear, she smiled.  
  
"This'll hardly cover my arse!" I complained.  
  
"Oh shut up Alexandra," Charlie groaned. "At least you aren't wearing this!"  
  
She gestured at her ice blue dress that also barely covered her arse but was much tighter than my outfit. It had average sized straps that covered her bra straps so, thankfully for her, she didn't have to wear a strapless one. The dress hugged her curves really well and showed off the toned legs she had gotten from quidditch.  
  
"Oh the both of you shut up," Kendra said, shoving a few of her things into a clutch she had charmed. "Now I'm off to Lily's dorm. You're welcome to accompany me."  
  
We both shook our heads. While we could barely stand Kendra and Lily, Lily's roommates were worse. She shrugged and opened the door, leaving into the hallway and then closing it. I looked at Charlie and she looked at me.  
  
"You look good Charlie. She did quite a good job," I said.  
  
She scoffed. "We both look like slags."  
  
"But nice-looking slags that aren't cheap."  
  
She rolled her eyes at my response. It was going to be weird for the next hour, sitting in this room dressed like this. I almost wished we had gone to Lily's dorm. Sitting on my four-poster and picking up the book I had been reading, I tuned everything else out and read.  
  
The party was going hard, lights flashing everywhere. I had already had a few glasses of what I believed was spiked butter beer. Everything was beautiful and I laughed, grasping Charlie's hands and jumping around. She giggled and kissed me on the cheek. Someone whistled and I smiled, turning in their direction and sticking out my tongue.  
  
"Okay, who got the Ravenclaw girls drunk?" A tall boy with beautiful black hair and impossibly grey eyes came over and began dancing next to us. "Because I would like to thank them," he whispered into my ear.  
  
"Well, if I got myself drunk, so how are you going to thank me?" I yelled. "Oops," I giggled. "I didn't mean to be so loud."  
  
The boy smiled. "Loud? I can barely hear you babe."  
  
I stiffened. Amos used to call me babe. Looking up at the tall boy, I decided to take a chance. Looking at Charlie and winking, I grabbed her and brought her closer to me. Bringing my lips to her ear, I giggled before actually talking.  
  
"I'm going to get over Amos, er, Diggory."  
  
She smiled and winked. Grabbing the boy's hand, I pulled him away from the dancing crowd and over into a dark corner. I could barely make out the fact that there was a small hallway there. Walking backwards and tugging on his hand, I didn't stop until I felt the stone wall against my back. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.  
  
"Hello," I whispered, thanking Merlin that Charlie had made me brush my teeth before coming. I giggled. "How many people have you kissed?" I whispered almost into his mouth.  
  
"Um, what kind of question is that?" He asked.  
  
"Well, I don't want some sort of mouth disease now do I? Because I do plan to kiss you mystery man." I had pressed myself closer to him and had my lips to his ear.  
  
He shivered. "Well, I could ask the same question, mystery woman."  
  
I'm not a woman," I giggled. "I'm a girl."  
  
"A girl? Well then, how old are you Ravenclaw? And how old do you think I am?"  
  
"Well, seeing as I don't recognize you and you don't seem younger than me, perhaps you're a seventh year. But you could be a really old-looking fifth year. And I'm a sixth year by the way," I rambled.  
  
"Well Ravenclaw, I am a sixth year like you, unfortunately. Apparently we don't quite remember each other."  
  
I frowned. "I must be really drunk, right?"  
  
I could feel him smile against my skin. "I think you are. I guess that means I should not be doing this."  
  
I grabbed his face and brought it so close to mine our eyelashes touched. "I think we should. And if I'm drunk, then why am I not slurring?"  
  
I was about to kiss him, his lips so close to mine I could almost feel them on mine. Less than a centimetre separated out lips. And then I heard something I thought I wouldn't hear again.  
  
"Okay babe. You sure no one's down here?"  
  
The boy moved towards me but I flinched and his lips touched my cheek. We both stiffened and suddenly, Amos, er, Diggory, was right beside us.  
  
"Oh, sorry mate. Babe, I think this corridor's taken."  
  
I looked at the boy in front of me as he pulled away and realized how stupid I was. I had on shorts that were barely shorts, a shirt that hardly covered me and I was piss drunk. My ex-boyfriend was inches away from me with another girl and all I could do was stare at this boy with sadness in my eyes.  
  
I pushed the boy away, shoving him into Amos. Trying to get past him, I had to push myself against him even more. When I was finally free, I turned and my eyes were an inch from Amos'.  
  
"Sorry mystery boy, but I have to go," I said quietly to the boy I had almost kissed.  
  
Then I pushed past Amos and his slag and ran back into the middle of the common room, dancing bodies all around me. I couldn't find Charlie so I found the Gryffindor portrait and raced out, crying. Only a few feet away from the opening, I sat down on the floor and began sobbing. A few seconds later I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched. Looking over at the person with their hand on my shoulder, I saw familiar blue eyes staring back at me. I flinched and the eyes saddened.  
  
"Go away," I sobbed. "Go fuck that slag in the corridor like you were going to. Just go the fuck away."  
  
He sniffed. "Merlin, Alexandra you're drunk. Really drunk by the smell of it. And may I just say you were in that corridor before I was."  
  
"But I wasn't the one that broke up with you. And so what if I'm drunk? It's a party! Parties are for drinking, dancing and having fun." I frowned. "And if kissing people is something I like to do to have fun, what do you care?"  
  
He hesitated. "I care because I still care about you. I came to this party thinking we were over but then I saw you. And I realized, I don't want us to be over. I still want you." I blanched. "But then I saw you and _him_ and –"  
  
"I didn't kiss him," I interrupted. "I didn't kiss him. I stopped because I thought of you."  
  
His face lit up and a large grin spread over it. I smiled too, trying to wipe away the tears that cascaded down from my eyes. He caught my hand and I froze. He took his thumb and wiped a tear away. I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against his.  
  
"Thank you," I said.  
  
And then I kissed him. His lips melted with mine and we fit perfectly. He tasted like the spiked butterbeer I had and I smiled against his lips. I was destroyed when I thought we were over. And now I had him back. I kissed him harder, bringing my hands up to his face, running my hands through his brilliant blond hair. His hands went to my waist and then…  
  
Footsteps. Clacking footsteps and then the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice echoing through the hall.  
  
"Dear me, eight students out of bed tonight and it's not even that late. Professor Dumbledore will not be happy."  
  
I pulled away from Amos, his face mirroring my shock. We scrambled to get up and ran down the hallway, away from McGonagall. As we ran, my hand grazed the wall and soon, we came upon a broom closet not that far from the Gryffindor portrait hole.  
  
Opening it with shaking hands, I climbed inside, Amos clambering in after me. His large body took up most of the space and I giggled through my drunken haze. He shushed me but I giggled again.  
  
"Make me," I whispered.  
  
He kissed me, his hands snaking around my waist. He was warm and solid and I wanted to hold onto him forever so that I would never feel the sensation of falling away like I had earlier that day. My hands brushed through his hair and ran along his face. We stayed like that even after the footsteps went away.  
  
"Alexan–" He started. "Al–"  
  
I kept interrupting him with kisses. He smiled against my mouth and I did the same. I finally pulled back and let him speak.  
  
"Alexandra, I am really sorry about earlier today. I don't know how that escalated to that measure." His eyes twinkled. "But I'm glad that mistake didn't cause me to lose you."  
  
I nodded. "Me too. Now," I giggled, "kiss me for Merlin's sake!"  
  
He obliged and as his hands crept up my shirt I gasped. He froze and pulled back but I met his lips again. He went slowly, tickling me at times and making me giggle, but efficiently shutting me up as quickly as he could. Then, just as he reached the edge of my bra, the door flew open and the light from a wand blinded me.  
  
I blinked and Amos quickly pulled his hands away, brushing through his hair instead. I placed my hands on his chest as they had been travelling south without my realizing it. Blushing, I squinted to see some boys I didn't recognize.  
  
"Ooh, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw in a broom cupboard. If that's not a scandal I don't know what is," a fairly large boy with unattractive features snorted.  
  
I blushed, looking towards the other end of the broom cupboard. Amos took my hands and I blushed even more.  
  
"Excuse me boys, but if you could let us out. I don't think we'll be continuing if you keep staring at us," Amos said and I snorted.  
  
The Slytherins moved out of the way. I giggled as Amos pulled me past them. I waved. I don't know why but it just seemed like a good idea. Amos laughed and pulled me towards him as we passed some of the other Slytherins who had two Gryffindor boys among them. Maybe they weren't Gryffindor like I originally thought. One of them stared at me as Amos and I walked by and his grey eyes startled me.  
  
"Mystery man!" I shrieked. "I thought you were Gryffindor but now you're hanging out with Slytherins. You, m'friend, are a liar."  
  
I hiccoughed and giggled. Amos ushered me forwards and I grasped his left arm trying to keep myself upright. He gave me a strange look and I smiled.  
  
"Mystery man?" He asked.  
  
"That," I said, pointing somewhere behind me, "is the boy I _didn't_ kiss in that corridor tonight. I accidentally thought he was a Gryffindor. Oops," I giggled.  
  
He gave me a weird smile. "Alexandra, I hate to say this, but that _is_ –"  
  
I stood on my toes and kissed him, shutting him up. "I. Don't. Care. Did. I. Kiss. Him?" I paused between each word to kiss him. "No. So. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. And. Bring. Me. Back. To. My. Dorm." With this, I kissed him harder and I felt his hands snake up my back.  
  
Just as I was dragging my hand down his chest, he pulled away and grabbed my hands in one of his. I whined but he put a finger over my mouth and shushed me again. I pouted and then tried to bite his finger. He smiled and wrapped me in his arms. He was still warm and I let myself collapse against him. Looking up, I tried to kiss him again but he put his finger on my lips again. I glared at him and he smiled.  
  
"Babe, it's really early in the morning. I don't want to make any noise and get caught. And anyways, we're already at your common room." He gestured towards the knocker that asked us riddles if we wanted to get it. "So, I have to go because you're drunk and I know if anything happens you'll regret it in the morning."  
  
I frowned. "No Amos, you're coming up with me." I tried to wink but ended up blinking a few times. "And I would never regret anything I would do with you."  
  
He laughed and turned towards the eagle shaped knocker. It squawked and I jumped and then giggled. Amos shot me a look and I leaned against him as the knocker spoke.  
  
"What is the one thing you must wish of this lifetime?" It asked.  
  
Amos smiled. "I've got this. To be happy."  
  
The knocker stayed silent and I rolled my eyes. "For it to have an end, otherwise it is not much of a lifetime. It is much longer than that."  
  
The knocker nodded, but I was very drunk and everything was swimming and the door opened. I stumbled in but quickly turned around. Grabbing Amos' shirt with my hands, I dragged half of him into the deserted common room. The only thing that stopped him from falling on top of me was his hands that had instinctively taken the edges of the door, keeping him out of the common room.  
  
"Come upstairs Amos," I whispered into his lips. "I'll help make sure the stairs don't trip you up."  
  
He groaned. "You do realize that you'll regret this in the morning? All the shameless flirting."  
  
I giggled. "Flirting? You're already my boyfriend. I'm just suggesting."  
  
He rolled his eyes and carried me to the steps that led up to my dormitory. I smiled and giggled once more. Getting drunk was fun! Amos placed me on the steps and I fell over without his arms around me. My face against the cold stone, I smiled and closed my eyes.  
  
"Okay babe, I have to go because otherwise we'll both regret tonight. Can you walk up to your dorm?" He asked.  
  
I giggled and turned, stumbling past the large bust of Rowena Ravenclaw towards the stairs. Amos obviously thought I could handle myself as he was gone and the door was closed by the time I turned around. I pouted as I made my way up the stairs. Sometimes I thought Amos was too good for me.  
  
Oh well, I thought. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually be able to sleep in. I hadn't seen Charlie leave the party so I assumed she had come back to the dorm, but she had still stayed up pretty late partying with me. With Charlie sleeping in, there would be no one to wake me up in the morning.  
  
I sighed as I fell against the banister, tripping over the last few stairs until I finally stumbled through my dorm room door. Stifling my giggles, I fell upon my bed and snuggled into my pillow. It was cool and smelled like strawberries, one of my favourite body sprays. I tried to pull my blankets over my less than covered body but my inebriated state complicated things. I finally gave up, grabbing a jumper from the foot of my bed and draping it over my cold legs. Smiling, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.  
  
I woke with a start, sitting right up. My head pounded as I tried to see through my cloudy haze of a hangover and the darkness in the room. I groaned as I heard someone stumble onto their bed, not unlike what I had done earlier. At least, I thought it was earlier.  
  
It was only when I realized the stumbled, half-drunken sounds were coming from Charlie's bed and I fully awoke. Squinting, I could see her shape trying to get her blankets over her body. The similarities between our drunken routines were striking.  
  
"Charlie," I whispered. "Charlie, what time is it?"  
  
She sighed and got off her bed, walking over to sit on mine. "Hey sweetheart, how are you? I didn't wake you did I?"  
  
"Charlie what time is it?" I demanded, a little louder this time.  
  
"It's four in the morning. I did wake you didn't I? I'm sorry sweetheart. Go back to sleep."  
  
"Charlie," I whispered, grabbing her hand, "you don't sound drunk. But you came back late. Charlie, what did you do?"  
  
She smiled at me in the dark and traced around my face with one of her nails. "Go back to sleep sweetheart, we'll talk in the morning, okay?"  
  
I smiled. "Does Charlie have a boyfriend? Does – Oh I'm sorry Charlie I won't tease you anymore, okay?" I said as her face dropped.  
  
"That's okay Al. Now go to sleep," she said as I closed my eyes and did just that.


	4. Potions, Mothers and Professor McLaren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So my best friend has turned into an emotional rollercoaster wreck who is apparently no longer independent. And the boy who's helping her become the zombie of who she once was? The same boy whom I told about my 'parental situation.' Great. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Author's note: Hello! Hope you like it! Basically, I need to make this quick because I get bored and I want to cram a year of shit into one chapter. Obviously not going to work. Anyways, reviews? Even just telling me how much you like it would be really appreciated. So rate it? MWAH! Thank you! P.S. How do you like my new chapter titles?

I sat at my desk in Potions, flipping through the textbook I had gotten at the start of the year. Today we were supposed to be working on Draughts of Living Death but I had already read up on them so I wasn't really doing anything productive. Charlie sat next to me, as my usual partner Lily was stick with Potter, reading over my shoulder. Although we were both pretty smart, we both had a tendency to lose our things and ourselves almost on a daily basis.  
  
Just last week I had to borrow her extra jumper seeing as I had lost the three I own. And Charlie had just lost her Potions textbook this morning as she was putting it in her bag. Yes, she put the textbook in her bag and then lost it. I don't know how but she managed to do so. I was just about to close the book, as I wasn't actually reading anything, when I heard Charlie mutter a very bad swear word. I looked up and saw Carter.  
  
Merlin I hoped he wasn't here to try and get us to go to yet another early practice. Four times a week was too much. I could barely stay awake long enough to finish my homework after our bi-weekly practices. Because our next game was coming up, in a week no less, and it was against Gryffindor, Carter had been making us practice until we begged him to stop. I groaned and he gave me a pointed look. I shrugged.  
  
"I'm incredibly sorry Lexi," he smirked as he said my nickname, "but may I sit next to Charlie today? I need to talk to her."  
  
I shrugged once more and gathered my things. Ignoring Charlie's look of helplessness, I turned to survey the classroom. Professor Slughorn was, as always, not there. He was always at least five minutes late. I sighed as I saw only one spot available.  
  
Actually, there were two seats, but the second was next to Vincent Maevis, the only Ravenclaw I knew that would be able to join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and no one would be surprised. So, I regretfully made my way to the seat next to Remus Lupin, arse hat extraordinaire. Well, so I assumed. His being a marauder automatically lowered my opinion of him. Sighing as I dropped down beside him, I saw him jerk out his daydream and he seemed surprised by my appearance.  
  
"My friends kicked me out of my seat. So I guess I'm sitting here today. Hope you don't mind." I gave him a tight-lipped smile.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I guess that's no problem." He returned my smile, his as awkward as mine. "So I heard about what Padfoot said to you this morning."  
  
"Padfoot?"  
  
"Uh, yeah Sirius."  
  
"Sirius?" I asked innocently.  
  
He smirked. "Black."  
  
I smiled. "Oh yeah. I know Black. So what exactly did you hear?"  
  
"Well, I distinctly heard something about Diggory." My face fell and he faltered. "Well, and of course Lily told me…" He trailed off as I glared at him and then the back of the conniving redhead's head.  
  
"Bitch," I muttered.  
  
"Um, completely ignoring that because Lily is my friend, is that what happened at breakfast?" I must have looked extremely confused as he continued. "When you were talking with Dumbledore. And Diggory tried to talk to you. Also, did I hear you call Dumbledore Funny Bearded Man?"  
  
I giggled. "I've known Dumbledore since I was a child. The name sort of stuck. But concerning Amos, er Diggory," I sobered up as I spoke his name, "I just don't want to talk to him right now. He's persuasive and I don't feel like forgiving him."  
  
He nodded. "But really? Funny Bearded Man?"  
  
"I had never attended Hogwarts when I first met him. Plus I was tired and was only interested in the fact that his beard reached his elbows." I laughed. "He's never really let that go."  
  
Lupin smiled. "That seems like it could be quite an interesting tale."  
  
My smile faltered but it didn't seem as if he noticed. "Yeah interesting. That's me."  
  
"No, I'm serious. What could have made you call Dumbledore a Funny Bearded Man?"  
  
My smile fell. "Doesn't matter."  
  
"No really! It seems really –"  
  
I turned towards him and glared. "It doesn't matter."  
  
He gave me a tight-lipped smile and nodded. "Okay."  
  
We sat there in silence for a minute before Slughorn arrived. Leaving us to make our potions so that he could take a nap (he doesn't cope well in the morning), I secretly cursed the old man. Couldn't he have us take notes?  
  
The Draught of Living Death was murder to finish alone, especially as he wanted it done in half as much time. So now I would have to work with Lupin, who kept giving me curious looks. I sighed as Slughorn told us to start. Looking at Lupin, I muttered something about ingredients. Walking over to the stock room, I quickly found the Sophophorus bean, African sea salt, essence of wormwood, Valerian roots and root of asphodel. Slowly taking my time getting back to the table, I saw Lupin finshing the set up on the table.  
  
The pewter cauldron was set up and I couldn't help but notice it was as beat up as mine. Obviously it didn't have the nicks and marks from dropping it down staircases, but I could tell Lupin used it quite often. He also had the graduated cylinder, the test tube, the measuring cup the stirring rod and the dropper out and ready.  
  
Again, all his utensils seemed very used. I had always assumed the marauders didn't care about school. But then again, I had always assumed that the marauders were stuck up pompous arses. Maybe Lupin wasn't really a marauder. Maybe it was just an honorary title considering his best friends were the ones who enjoyed pranks and detention. He was, after all, a prefect. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to judge him.  
  
I smiled at him as I placed the ingredients on the table and sat down again. He smiled back and we started on the potion. I had him start with the water and the African sea salt as I began to cut up the Sophophorus bean. Taking the bean, I set it on my own cutting board and began to use the heel of my hand to roll it around. Lupin gave me a strange look.  
  
"It says to cut it up for its juice, right? Well if you roll it under your palm, usually that releases the juice better," I explained.  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
I blushed. "My mum was a good cook."  
  
"Was?"  
  
I shut my mouth and turned back to the bean. Lupin seemed to have gotten the message and turned back to his beaker. As I measured the essence of wormwood, he dumped in the salt water and held the cauldron at the angle I needed and I slowly poured half of the wormwood in. As he began to chop three of the Valerian roots, I watched the potion to make sure it resembled the smooth blackcurrant colour described in the text book.  
  
When Lupin had placed the roots into a beaker filled with water, he turned back to the potion and I took the Sophophorus bean I had cut and squeezed as much juice as I could into the potion. He then added some of his Valerian root infused water to our potion. As he began to stir clockwise, I watched it become a purple colour but it still wasn't the light shade of lilac the book specified. Sighing in frustration, I saw Lupin's shoulders droop as well.  
  
He passed me the stirring rod and I began to stir anti-clockwise, trying to follow the directions from the textbook as well as I could. As Lupin cut up more Valerian root, I waited as the potion began to clear up, but even as it settled, it was still murky.  
  
"Should I keep stirring or should we just continue?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I've never had a lot of patience for these things."  
  
I mock-gasped. "Remus Lupin not having patience? Heaven forbid!"  
  
He laughed and added the seven pieces of Valerian root. As I continued to stir the potion anti-clockwise, he measured and added the powdered root of asphodel. Taking the now heavy cauldron from me, he tipped it so he could begin stirring the potion himself. As soon as he was done, he cut off one small piece of Valerian root and sat down beside me. As we waited and timed the potion, he smiled at me.  
  
"I never knew you could be this fun. I always thought you Ravenclaws were really school-oriented and didn't like having any sort of fun."  
  
"Oh you just haven't hung out with the right Ravenclaws," I teased poking him in the arm.  
  
He laughed. "Perhaps I should start hanging out with you more and your friend, um, Charlotte." He coloured at her name.  
  
"Gasp! Is that a blush I see on your cheeks mister Lupin? And just for future reference, it's Charlie. Don't ever call her Charlotte." Lupin blushed even more and I gasped as I realized our two and a half minutes were up. "Oh bloody hell we have to go quickly! Lupin, hand me the Valerian root. Lupin!"  
  
I may have sworn very loudly. Actually, I definitely swore very loudly. A few heads turned. Reaching over Lupin (who, by the way, wasn't doing anything), I grabbed the Valerian root and threw it into the cauldron. Sighing, I watched the potion turn a nice pink colour, but I knew it wasn't the specific colour from the textbook. Swearing under my breath this time, I turned to see Lupin looking over at another table. Glaring at him, I slapped him about the head and he turned to me, confusion in his eyes.  
  
"Good to know you don't give a flying shit about our work."  
  
He started and jumped up to look into the cauldron. Seemingly relieved, he turned back to me but I glared at him. He shrugged and gave me a sheepish smile.  
  
"Bring the potion up to Slughorn," I demanded.  
  
Rolling my eyes, I turned around to look at whoever he thought was more important than the potion. I locked eyes with Charlie who seemed severely pissed at Carter who was glaring at the potion as if the cauldron had decapitated his mother. Charlie rolled her eyes at me and I raised one of my eyebrows. She shook her head and I shrugged, turning back to my table.  
  
Standing up and cleaning off the utensils of mine that I had used, I put them away and then started on Lupin's things. Cleaning and putting things away, I hadn't realized Lupin had come back until I made to clean the cauldron and realized he had cleaned it and put it away.  
  
"She's never mentioned you," I said, sitting back down. He looked up, confused. "Charlie. She's never said anything about you."  
  
"Oh." He sounded sad.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why what?"  
  
I sighed. "Why hasn't she said anything about you? Obviously you've liked her for a long time, but I don't think you'd be that upset about her and Carter fighting unless you knew something about it. I mean, they fight all the time and they always have. So, what has she talked to you about, why, and why hasn't she told me?"  
  
Lupin was shocked. "Um, I don't know, I don't… Nothing!" I raised my eyebrow. "Fine! I've been helping her with, uh, charms. And she, uh, didn't want you to know because she didn't want to hurt your feelings. Because, uh, you're so good at charms, but she doesn't like it when, uh, you teach her because you're her best friend, right? And, she wanted another opinion?"  
  
"Wow Lupin that almost sounded believable."  
  
"It's true! I'm just scared of you." I rolled my eyes. "That's true too!"  
  
"No it's not Lupin."  
  
"Oh yeah?" He asked, sounding very much like a six year old boy. "How would you know?"  
  
I laughed and pointed to myself. "Ravenclaw." He frowned and pouted. "Oh come on Lupin, why won't you tell me?"  
  
"Why won't you tell me about what you meant by you mother 'was,' huh?"  
  
My face dropped and he smirked. "My mum's dead."  
  
We sat there in silence for a moment as his smirk disappeared. He made to speak several times but always closed his mouth. I relished in his awkwardness. After a minute, I decided to take him off the hook.  
  
"She's not dead."  
  
He looked up. "Huh?"  
  
"My mum. She's not dead. She left us though. My dad, my sister and I. When I was really young."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry."  
  
"Thanks, but if I'm being honest, I would rather her be dead." He gave me a confused look. "That way, I would know she didn't want to leave me. She had to."  
  
He shook his head. "No. You should never rather her dead. Because that means you'll never see her again." He put his head down and I felt a pang of sadness.  
  
I sighed. "God, we're a pair aren't we? Lamenting over whether we'd rather our mothers' dead and in the ground or alive and who's abandoned us."  
  
He laughed, but it was more sad than happy. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever told anyone that before. Apart from James, Sirius and Peter, of course."  
  
"Yeah. Charlie's the only other person I've ever told. I actually don't know why I told you. I guess you just seem trust-worthy. Like I could trust you with my life."  
  
He gave a harsh laugh. "Yeah, I don't think that would be the best thing to do. But I understand the feeling. We should talk more. You seem really cool."  
  
I nodded. "You too."  
  
As I walked out of Potions when class was done, I was surprised to realize that I had just opened up about my mum to someone I had never really talked to before. Perhaps it was because he seemed more Ravenclaw than Gryffindor. He seemed wise, like he had seen the worst parts of the world and had lived through them.  
  
Like he knew that things would get better and then get worse. He wasn't going to tell me that my mum loved me, of course, she just didn't know what else to do. Or that she was a bitch for leaving my sister and me with my father. He would tell me that things could be worse, things will be worse and that I need to get over it to get on with my life. And I think I needed that.  
  
Smiling as Charlie hooked her arm through mine, I thought back to Lupin. He seemed to really like her. And whether they were actually working on Charms or not, it might be nice for Charlie to have a boyfriend. Especially one like Lupin. I smiled as I saw him looking at her from the corner of his eye, concern radiating from him as she tripped over her own two feet. He would be good for her, I thought. And that's how I made it my mission to set them up.  
  
"So Lupin," I said, poking Charlie in the ribs with my elbow.  
  
She glanced at me, confused. "Remus Lupin? What about him?" "Well, a little birdy told me you might be taking some time away from me, your best friend, to hang out with him." Charlie flushed. "Aha! I knew it. Are you shagging him you slag?"  
  
She flushed even more but her small smiled turned into a scowl. "Of course not you prat. I'm not some common slag like Kendra." "Hey! I resent that!"  
  
We both looked over to see Kendra sitting a few seats away at the Ravenclaw table. We smiled sheepishly as she glared at us. The awkward moment was quickly interrupted as a boy from Hufflepuff sat down next to her and started sucking her face. And Kendra had been offended when we had insinuated that she slept around. That girl needs to get better morals. I sighed as I turned back to Charlie.  
  
"I never meant that you arse hat, I was just joking. God, you're so sensitive lately."  
  
"I'm sensitive? I'M SENSITIVE?" People turned to see what she was yelling about. "You haven't even asked me what happened in Potions class, even if I tried to get you to get me out of that situation. You did nothing."  
  
"Charlie," I started, "you've always told me to wait until you were ready to tell me something. 'Respect your privacy' and some shit." She glared at me. "But for some reason, you always seem to try anyways. Merlin, why can't you be constant?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe because I'm a human? We aren't the most constant of things you know."  
  
"The one day that I need someone to talk to me, to nag me about my problems and you stop being yourself."  
  
"I stop being myself? Charlie, you're being the polar opposite of how you normally are today! And frankly, you're being a bitch."  
  
"Oh my Merlin, I cannot believe you said that. I'm being a bitch because suddenly I want to be more open with my best friend? Because I need to tell her something I should have told her last year but I don't know how to bring it up?"  
  
"Um, yeah, pretty much. If it was really important that I know now even after how many months, why didn't you just tell me whatever you wanted to tell me when it happened? Why wait so much time before even bringing it up. And why do you expect me to bail you out of an awkward situation with Carter? It's not as if we both haven't been pissed at him, especially you."  
  
"Well, you just wouldn't understand," she muttered.  
  
"No I wouldn't because you're so secretive. So why don't you enlighten me?" I said sarcastically.  
  
"You know what? I would, but you obviously don't want to know."  
  
"Don't want to know? I usually beg you for information like this and maybe I've grown up and decided to respect you privacy like you want but apparently you don't want me to change. And you know what? I'm changing Charlie. I need to figure out who I am and you being a drama-seeking bitch isn't helping."  
  
She glared at me and stood up from the table, her half-eaten lunch forgotten. "So now I'm a drama-seeking bitch? That's fresh. But you know what? You're changing to 'find yourself' or some shit, and I guess I should too. And the first thing I'll start with is my friends."  
  
She grabbed her book bag that had been on the ground beside her and stormed away from the table. I rolled my eyes and stood up. I was distinctly aware of the large number of people staring at us.  
  
"Fine. Walk away. But just remember you took the first step out the door," I yelled.  
  
Sitting back down, I scowled. Who would've thought that almost six years of friendship could all come crashing down in five minutes because of some crazy overreaction? I still don't know why she was mad at me in the first place. I was just teasing like I normally did. And she was being a tad dramatic, well more than the tad she was normally. It was just so idiotic. I felt so stupid.  
  
Fighting in front of the entire school during lunch because she was mad at me for insinuating that she was sleeping with the guy she was hanging out with secretly? Well, that was stupid.  
  
First, because why should our personal fights be broadcasted? We should have kept it under wraps until our dorm rooms. Then if we had yelled at each other for the insanely short amount of time we did about the insanely idiotic thing we were fighting about, no one would be looking at me like I was insane.  
  
Well, I was a bit of a kook, but no one ever really stared at me like this. I saw Lupin giving me a hard glare and I childishly stuck my tongue out at the Gryffindor boy. The sides of his mouth turned up in a smile but he tried to suppress it. Sticking his tongue out in a mock version of mine, still trying to keep his frown, he was hit in the head by Black.  
  
My childish grin fell off my face and he turned to properly glare at his idiot of a friend. Saying some words to Black, Lupin stood up and made his way over to the Ravenclaw table. I gave him a coy smile and stood up, abandoning my food that was unappetizing after my somewhat quick and idiotic spat with Charlie.  
  
"You know we look suspicious," I said, threading my arm through his. "Perhaps we should not be talking right after my incredibly loud, quick and obnoxious fight with my best friend, who you seem to like very much."  
  
He frowned. "Actually, that's what I wanted to come over and talk to you about. You shouldn't be hard on her. She's going through a lot at the moment."  
  
I blanched. "You came all the way over here to tell me that? Charlie's a big girl, she can take care of herself."  
  
We had just left the Great Hall and were walking down one of the many hallways. A small whimper was coming from up ahead around the corner. I looked at Lupin and concern was written all over his face. He ran up ahead and by the time I had caught up (I am not the fastest runner, nor am I very good with exercise), I found him crouching down next to Charlie who seemed to be holding herself together.  
  
When he heard me behind him, he turned and glared. Seriously, what is up with Lupin? I thought we were friends, or starting to become friends if one conversation in which we revealed our deepest thoughts about our mothers meant we were becoming friends, but the way he seemed to hate me just because I had upset Charlie made me think he wasn't all right in the head. I mean, I get that he might really like her, but he looked as if I had killed his first born child or something. Very rude.  
  
"Obviously, she does need someone to take care of her," he muttered.  
  
I frowned. Charlie had never needed someone to take care of her.  
  
When she was sick in fourth year, she waited until I was in class before getting out of bed and going down to the kitchens for some chicken noddle soup. When she had accidentally broken her right hand last year, she had done all her homework herself, even if she couldn't quite hold the quill without her hand hurting. Just three weeks ago when she had taken a tumble from her broom and twisted her ankle, she had limped her way over to the changing room and healed it herself.  
  
Charlie was not a girl you could take care of.  
  
Footsteps behind me made me turn and I saw Carter. He seemed distraught but as soon as he saw Charlie and Lupin, he scowled. Then he turned to me and scowled some more. If that was possible. Come to think of it, he had never seemed so mad. Or scowly. And Carter is a very scowly person.  
  
"Him?" He asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "Of all people, it's him? He's – well – he's – Charlie. Charlie, tell me you're kidding." His voice broke at the last word and he seemed to tear up.  
  
The great Carter Day crying? Might as well tell me that I'm a death eater, that I have red hair and that my name is Priscilla. Priscilla Black for that matter. Yeah, Carter doesn't cry.  
  
"This is who you've been fucking? You fucking slag!"  
  
Charlie wailed, her heaved sobs becoming even more heart-wrenching. Lupin growled and stood, his wand out but I had already shoved Carter into the nearest wall. Grabbing him by his tie, I pulled his head down so his eyes were at my level.  
  
"Don't you dare talk to her that way." He glared at me and I pulled him closer so that my lips were next to his ear. "We'll talk about this later, but I don't want this to be public," I whispered, subtly pointing out the people who had run after the four of us, trying to get a glimpse of the aftermath of my blow up.  
  
I let his tie go and he nodded. "Charlie," he started, his voice strained, "don't bother coming to practice tonight."  
  
"There's practice tonight?" I asked. I was still very confused about the whole 'this is the guy you're fucking comment' to say the least. Best not add any important details to that.  
  
Carter tried to suppress a grin. "The Gryffindor boys got themselves a detention tonight, cleaning something or other. Potter" – he said this while he grimaced – "kindly asked if we could trade practice times. I agreed because I'm going to enjoy seeing him get up early tomorrow. God is that idiot ever sleepy in the morning. Maybe I'll be able to get my revenge for the hot sauce."  
  
Walking off muttering, I smiled. Three days ago, Carter had found hot sauce in all his, shall we say delicates? It was not pretty. Especially because he hadn't noticed until he put one on. Let's just say the Ravenclaw common room had a pretty funny show that night.  
  
Granted, he had gotten Potter a detention the day before, but he still maintained that he was not at fault. I heard movement behind me and I stiffened. I had momentarily forgotten that Charlie and Lupin were behind me. Turning, I glared at them both. Lupin was now helping a distraught Charlie to her feet.  
  
"The fuck is wrong with you? In the span of 10 minutes you've pissed off two of the people I thought you considered your friends. Carter's right. Don't bother coming to practice you slag. Just go fuck this liar." I gestured to Lupin who seemed taken aback.  
  
"Liar? Liar? I'm a liar?" He said hesitantly.  
  
Obviously, no one had ever told him the bad news.  
  
"Yeah. Your mum isn't even dead is she? You're just trying some sort of voodoo magic on me so I'll become your friend so that you can eventually stab me in the back. Well guess what. It's not working!"  
  
He looked amused. "Voodoo?"  
  
"It's some fucking muggle shit or whatever." He smirked and Charlie did too. "I'm fucking tired you numpties. My brain doesn't function well on tirededness."  
  
"Tirededness?"  
  
I glared. "Fuck off."  
  
I walked away fuming. It wasn't my fault I couldn't quite be mad correctly. It had been a long morning. I sighed as I made my way to my common room. I still had double Defense Against the Dark Arts. With the idiots called the marauders. Well, at least it was with Professor McLaren. Professor McLaren was pretty awesome.  
  
Although she was a woman and the boys didn't think her capable, she completely shocked us our first class by hexing some of the rowdier Gryffindor boys (they shall remain nameless) who were acting up in class. When they had complained to Flitwick, she had charmed the pants off the little man with something I like to call womanly charm. It was hilarious to watch. The little tosser had no idea what happened. He just muttered something about how children will be children and how 16 year old boys always seem to have crazy stories about certain, ahem, female teachers.  
  
We had all been awestruck and all she had done was to continue on in her lecture about nonverbal spells. Yeah, nonverbal spells. A.k.a. the death of me. For the life of me I couldn't quite get it. I murmured them to this day, like most of my classmates, but I was a Ravenclaw. Call me pretentious, but I always seem to figure things out before most anyone in class. And for some reason, even some of the less admirable Ravenclaws had seemed to master the nonverbal spells. They still weren't powerful, but some of them could still do it. It frustrated me.  
  
I sighed. Might as well get to class. I needed to talk to Professor McLaren about some tutoring that might be available for me. I wanted to be an auror after Hogwarts, and I'm pretty sure you need to do well in Defense Against the Dark Arts for that. Standing up from a chair I hadn't realised I had been sitting in, I looked around and saw that I was indeed in the Ravenclaw common room. This had happened before. I became so absorbed in my thoughts that I went on autopilot. Charlie had once said that it looked like I had turned into a living, breathing potato. I had hit her in the arm when she said that.  
  
That was before everything had gone weird and she was overly emotional and unstable and needed someone to care for her. Ugh. Even thinking about the creepy thing that had taken over her body today made me shiver. That was not someone I knew and not someone I would consider a friend. Nope. I liked the old Charlie. The sarcastic, thick-skinned, independent Charlie that would rather shave her head than ask for help.  
  
It's true. I had to disarm her in fourth year before she did something permanent to her hair one day when she didn't understand what we were doing in Transfiguration. Yeah, Charlie wasn't the most logical of girls. Even if she was in Ravenclaw. But I guess she was since she never seemed to have trouble with the passwords. I guess Charlie is just the best example of a Ravenclaw enigma.  
  
I sighed and left the common room, making my way to the DADA class. Perhaps my imaginative brain isn't such an attribute, I thought as I stared out the windows as I walked. Clouds don't really have cute shapes. More inappropriate. I turned to share my thoughts with Charlie and stopped dead when I realised she wasn't beside me, accidentally letting a second year run into me. He glared as he walked past me, rubbing his abnormally large nose. I turned to tell Charlie that he looked like a certain greasy Slytherin sixth year and my face fell as I remembered why I had stopped in the first place.  
  
Wow, I thought. Less than a minute after I leave my common room and I already miss Charlie. One fight and my whole dynamic is screwed up. Damn, I really missed her. I shook my head and quickly got to Defense. Professor McLaren was in her office and I timidly made my way up her stairs. I had learned early on from Carter that startling Professor McLaren was never a good idea. Knocking on her door, she beckoned me in without lifting her head.  
  
"Miss James. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, my class is next Professor."  
  
"I am well aware."  
  
I gave a sheepish smile. "Well, I'm having some difficulty with nonverbal spells."  
  
"Again. I am well aware."  
  
I reddened. "Well, I was wondering if you could possible take some time to tutor me every week because–"  
  
"Because you're a Ravenclaw," she ended my sentence for me. "I know how you work. You need to be the best. You strive for perfection." She took off her small spectacles and placed them on her desk. Her brown eyes stared through mine. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time. Ask one of your classmates if it is that important to you."  
  
I nodded and stood up. "Thank you Professor. I'm sorry to disturb you."  
  
She laughed and I stiffened. I had never heard her laugh before. She had always smirked, hardly ever smiled and never laughed in class.  
  
"You haven't disturbed me Miss James. But I'm curious. Why are nonverbal spells so important to you? I don't expect you to be able to do them well for at least another two months."  
  
I hesitated. You seemed to see my brief second of hesitation and gave me a veritable smile.  
  
"Well, um, my mum you see, she was an amazing witch. Well, I think she was. And she always seemed so good at nonverbal spells," I started. "And, well… You know what Professor? I don't want to waste your time on my petty problems, do I?"  
  
I turned and was about to walk out when she stopped me.  
  
"Miss James, I am well aware of your parental situation as well as what happened with you and a certain Hufflepuff boy." I stiffened. "And I just want to make sure you aren't trying to learn these skills to take some sort of revenge."  
  
"Revenge?"  
  
She laughed. "Many girls in my day did the same thing. Had a spat with their boyfriend, a big one or small, and decided to learn nonverbal spells to attack said boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, and this person's new girlfriend. My friend Mary actually had a boy thinking his eyebrows were changing colours if he even went to the washroom. He tried to hold it in at his cousin's wedding and then made a scene during the reception. Quite fun, Mary was. Died too young she did."  
  
I felt sad as I saw her eyes begin to glisten with tears even though a second beforehand she had been smiling, reminiscing about her friend Mary.  
  
"Well, I assume you know her niece? Mary MacDonald in Gryffindor." I nodded. I knew Mary. Smart, but she was also quite mean when she wanted to be.  
  
"Anyways, I just need to know you aren't trying to seek revenge on the awful Diggory boy." Her eyes glinted with mischief.  
  
I squirmed. "No, just trying to make my mum proud. Ravenclaw shit and what not." I immediately bugged out my eyes and clapped my hands over my mouth.  
  
But instead of telling me off for swearing, Professor McLaren just laughed.  
  
"Class starts in 15 minutes. Get out of my office so I can continue working."  
  
I nodded and left her, jumping down the stairs to see two people in the room. Only two people. And the only two people I didn't want to see.


	5. Guillotines, Curses and Invitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouting obscenities in DADA? Going all Kendra on the one person I never thought I'd do that to? I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note:
> 
> OOOOOOOH! So basically the only people I know are reading this are people who've actually reviewed and my friends from school. I realize you don't like reviewing. I don't like reviewing. But even just rating it, that would be awesome. Thanks!

"Ah shit," I said, rather loudly.  
  
Charlie and Lupin looked at me. Well, Charlie stared at me while Lupin glared. Her eyes were still red though. Red and puffy. And she had come to class.  
  
"Fuck, it's still the sobbing Charlie. Of course it is. What did I expect," I said, turning around, waving my arms, "you to magically become the person you were six months ago?"  
  
I heard someone growl. Lupin, of course. I turned back towards him and just shook my head.  
  
"Oh don't bother. I am feeling really bad today considering I told you something so personal for whatever reason, then I fought with my supposed best friend, then she ran off with you and Carter blew up. Man, I should have just stayed in bed today."  
  
Charlie sort of smirked at my last comment. We said that whenever one of us had a bad day. My chest tightened as she smiled, hoping that maybe we could get over this stupid spat. But probably not considering Lupin was glaring at me as if I had impregnated myself with the spawn of Satan. Wow, my analogies have gotten worse. I sighed and dropped down in my normal seat. Usually Charlie sat next to me but she seemed to have gotten the message and walked over to Lupin's usual seat. I sighed and pulled out parchment from my bag. Taking out a quill, I began to draw. Well, scribble.  
  
I can't actually draw to save my life. But it relaxes me. All these thoughts I have in my head spilled out on paper. Perhaps it's a good thing I'm a horrid artist. That way no one can figure out what is happening inside my head. I was just about to shade in the lopsided head of my stick person in a guillotine (yeah, I was bored and thought of the French revolution my mum had always talked about when I was younger – her family was French and she loved history) when a shadow passed over the parchment.  
  
"Morbid," a voice said.  
  
I looked up and saw Black, looming over me like the creep he is. I scowled at him and he smirked.  
  
"My stick person is none of your concern. And if I decide to decapitate him, it should not be considered morbid. Especially if he did something extremely bad like become a sad, depressed, whiny little girl for no reason."  
  
Black scoffed. "I'm assuming your stick person is modeled after a certain leech?"  
  
"Leech? If you're referring to Charlie, you may want to rethink that description," I said, flaring.  
  
"Hey, you're the one who's mad at her!"  
  
I scoffed. "Yeah, but she's still my best friend. That means you can't say anything about her, you arse hat!"  
  
He just rolled his eyes and just sat down beside me. I glared at him. He smirked again.  
  
"Yeah, okay then."  
  
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm sitting down. That's what it's called when you put your arse on the chair." He smirked again. "I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart."  
  
I scowled. "No, I mean what the bloody hell are you doing sitting here next to me?"  
  
"Well, considering your leech friend – sorry – Charlie, is sitting next to Moony, er, Remus, I need to sit somewhere and this seat is the only one available."  
  
I looked around and cursed. Even Lily was sitting next to one of her Gryffindor friends. Granted, I was still mad at her and Defense Against the Dark Arts was not a class where you wanted your partner to be someone who wasn't fond of you at the moment, but sitting next to Black was not a better alternative.  
  
I scowled and turned back to my wonky drawing, the little stick person feverishly screaming as the guillotine blade raced down and then went back up again. I drew another stick person, this one with a noose around its neck. Judging from the large arrow that designated the stick person as Sirius Black, I think he might have gotten the message as he looked over my shoulder.  
  
Smirking once again, he began to play with his quill and once in a while he began to poke me until I shot him a glare and threatened to castrate him. Each time he just smirked and turned back to playing with his quill. I was beginning to wonder where Professor McLaren was when she finally bounded down the stairs and vanished all our tables. I squeaked as my parchment disappeared from under my hand while it floated down to my feet. Black giggled girlishly and I shot him a glare.  
  
"Nonverbal spells, children. We have been working on them all year. Now is the time to show off what you've got," Professor McLaren said and I scowled.  
  
Damn her. She made a platform appear and my scowl deepened if that was possible. She quickly called up two students, one from Hufflepuff and another from Slytherin. I watched as they duelled. The Slytherin in question was a definite supporter of You-Know-Who, but the Hufflepuff was a pureblood there was no doubt about it. I could tell the Slytherin was apprehensive to actually harm him.  
  
But after a minute, it was over. The Hufflepuff fell over, stupefied by the look of it. Professor McLaren quickly revived the Hufflepuff (who was pretty shaken up and unfortunately not Diggory – hey look I used his last name!) and sent him off the raised platform. She turned to the rest of us and smiled. I shivered. That was not a good smile. She turned her smile to me and I felt dread deep in my core.  
  
"Miss Alexandra James and Miss Charlotte Meaver, if you would please join me up here?"  
  
I scowled and could feel rather than hear Black laughing from beside me. Seriously, did his whole body shake when he laughed? I rolled my eyes and did as Professor McLaren said. Once we were both next to her, she directed us to the opposite ends of the platform.  
  
I took out my wand and pointed it at her, developing the perfect sparring stance. Professor McLaren jumped off the platform and told us to start. Immediately, Charlie sent a jinx in my direction, but my easily placed shield charm kept it at bay. Of course, we both whispered seeing as we still hadn't mastered the nonverbal aspect of nonverbal spells.  
  
Yeah, aren't we making the other Ravenclaws proud? But Charlie didn't stop there. She sent jinx after hex after charm in my direction and it was all I could do to shield myself from them. She was going all out, frustration and anger obvious on her face. At one point she sent what I assumed to be a stinging jinx in my direction and it was all I could do to yell out my shield charm.  
  
"Charlie, what the hell are you trying to do? Kill me?"  
  
She glowered. "You aren't supposed to be saying your charms out loud Alexandra." At my full name, she smirked, a hard gleam in her eye.  
  
She then sent more hexes in my direction. My anger flared. Instead of shielding myself from her hexes, I just stepped aside as they came by and attacked on my own. Her eyes grew wide but soon, we were yelling jinxes at each other, the class having backed up against the wall and Professor McLaren trying desperately to get up on the platform but having to jump back every time a curse came near her.  
  
At one point, I didn't sidestep her spell and was thrown into the wall behind me. I gasped as the harsh rock met my back and mouth splattered from my mouth. A sharp pain from my stomach made me wince and I desperately hoped I didn't puncture anything. That wouldn't be good for the upcoming match. Especially considering it was against Gryffindor.  
  
I swore and Professor McLaren gave me a hard look. I glared at her and turned back at Charlie. She didn't even seem remotely sorry that she had hurt me. I gave an indignant squeak (if that's possible to do) and began to attack again, Charlie and I both shrieking jinxes, hexes and swear words at each other.  
  
I finally managed to hit her with a stunner but as soon as I began to relax, Lupin jumped up and ran towards her, basically leaping onto the raised platform. He revived her and she fluttered her eyes, raising her torso up and leaning on her forearms. She grasped onto his arm as he helped her up and I could barely register Professor McLaren jumping up onto the platform and grabbing my wand out of my hand. I was still shrieking curses at Charlie although they may have been the non-magical kind.  
  
Actually, they were definitely non-magical curse words. And most of the kids in the class seemed scared of me as I spit them out. Well, all but four. Charlie and Lupin were focused on either glaring at me or making sure she wasn't at risk of death while Potter and Black were snickering.  
  
I calmed down enough to stop yelling obscene words at her at one point and hardly noticed that Professor McLaren had set me down in a chair and that Potter and Black had each taken a hold of one of my arms. My wand was on Black's lap and I seethed as I sat there, slowly realizing my situation. I growled as Potter and Black shared a look and Potter opened his mouth as if to say something. They looked at each other and began to giggle.  
  
"Oh grow up you toss pots. And shut up while you're at it," I hissed.  
  
Potter smirked. "We aren't the tosser who attacked her supposed best friend while in class. And we also didn't elbow Professor McLaren in the face."  
  
I looked right at him, shock visible on my face. He smirked and gestured towards Lupin, Charlie and Professor McLaren, the latter with blood running down her face, clutching her nose as Lupin continuously apologized. I smirked. Figures he would hit the teacher in the nose.  
  
"She can smile!" Black proclaimed excitedly and my smirk quickly disappeared.  
  
"Bloody hell, you're so immature!" I said, scowling. "Let me go will you?" I said, trying to tug my arms out of their grasps.  
  
"What? So you can hex us too?" Potter asked, giggling like a schoolgirl again.  
  
I scowled and stepped on his foot as hard as I could. He yelped and I grinned, satisfied that I had hurt him. Potter released my arm and began massaging his hurt foot.  
  
"You're a freaking menace," he fumed and I stuck my tongue out at him.  
  
He shook his head and got up, making his way towards Lily. She was, as normal, listening intensely to Professor McLaren as she helped the two new students up on the platform on their stance. Potter draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Immediately she stepped on his injured foot and then elbowed him in the stomach. As Potter doubled over in pain, I laughed. Black looked over at Potter and back at me laughing too.  
  
"He's got a problem that arsehole does," he said.  
  
I nodded and turned to him, blinking a little faster than normal. "You know, I never realized this, but you and Potter are really fun," I said quietly, leaning forward so he could hear.  
  
His eyes twinkled and his breathing became labored as my arm that Potter had released crossed my body and my hand came to rest on his thigh. I slowly began to move my fingers around, slowly making my way up his leg. He leaned in and his panted breathing made me smile. Leaning towards my ear, he slowly gripped the arm he had in his grasp a little tighter.  
  
"Lexi, could you please get your hand off my leg?" He asked in a pained voice.  
  
I pulled away from his and smirked. "Why Black?" I leaned closer. "Or should I say, Sirius? You know, I've always really admired your… well…" With that I moved my hand up his leg a little more, careful not to touch anything still.  
  
He froze and then leaned towards me again. "Lexi, I have to tell you something." He paused and I nodded. "I have your wand in my other hand. Good try though."  
  
I leaned back and took my hands away from him, laying them in my lap. My coy smile fell and I let my face go stony, no emotions visible. His grip on my arm relaxed and I yanked out of it. He made to grab it again but I crossed my arms and leaned back in the seat. Obviously it didn't seem like I would be attacking someone soon so he let me be, but didn't move away.  
  
I scowled as he twirled my wand around his fingers. Instead of glaring somewhere else and ignoring him though, I turned and scowled at him, full stare. He smirked as he felt my gaze and looked up to meet my eyes. Stormy grey met vibrant green and I felt a sense of déjà vu. My breath caught as I remembered something.  
  
"Mystery man…" I whispered.  
  
Black froze but quickly smirked. "Mystery man? Who's he?"  
  
I shook my head. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You're mystery man?"  
  
"Um, no I'm not."  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "Did you or did you not almost snog someone in a dark corridor the night of the Gryffindor welcome back party?"  
  
"Oh I snog many girls on many nights. You'll have to be more specific."  
  
"Did you or did you not almost snog me in a dark corridor the night of the Gryffindor welcome back party?"  
  
His smirk vanished. "I thought you had forgotten. Diggory told me you were too pissed to remember and to never bring it up. How do you know?"  
  
"Your eyes. I remember grey eyes the colour of clouds right before a storm. Not the really dark ones but the grey ones. Your eyes, right?"  
  
He snickered. "You sound like a gushy romantic. 'Eyes like a cloud before a storm.'"  
  
I scowled. "At least I didn't say the colour of indecisiveness."  
  
"Is that an insult? Like an intelligent insult? Because I don't get it."  
  
I smiled and pointed at him. "Gryffindor," then me, "Ravenclaw."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "You aren't that amazing. It's not as if you can figure anything out just by being a Ravenclaw."  
  
"When you go up to your dorm this evening, look straight across the stair gap thingy and tell me that the golden tapestry doesn't have your password on it."  
  
"The stair gap thingy?"  
  
I sighed. "You know what I mean!"  
  
He chuckled and I elbowed him in the stomach. Holding his stomach, he doubled over and began to groan dramatically. I rolled my eyes and giggled. I guess he was nice to be around. When he wasn't around his friends at least. He was like Lupin, I thought. I had always thought they were arsehats.  
  
But they really were nice and interesting once they were alone and took things seriously. And they made me feel like they could be my friend. I smiled and he looked up at me and smiled too. Just then Potter came over and fell into Black's lap.  
  
"She told me she would never go out with me in a million years. A million years Padfoot! That's like… a million years!" He sighed dramatically and winced in a very fake manner.  
  
My smile fell and my face went stony again. My arms hugged my body and I sat lower in my seat. Ignoring the idiots beside me, I kept glancing at Charlie who was apparently nursing a twisted ankle. I rolled my eyes and coughed into my sleeve. I looked around. There must have been some dust around if I was coughing. That or I was getting sick. But that was unacceptable.  
  
The game was coming up. I could not be sick. When Professor McLaren finally decided that we had no more time for class and that the bell would sound any moment, she let us pack up. I quickly shoved things into my bag and slung it over my shoulder, trying to run out of class as soon as I could. Unfortunately, Professor McLaren wasn't having any of it.  
  
"Miss James!" She shrieked over the raised voices in the classroom.  
  
I froze and rolled my eyes. Turning around, I saw her motioning me towards her.  
  
"And Miss Meaver as well!"  
  
I shuddered. This would not work out well.  
  
"Misters Longbottom, Black, Potter and Pettigrew as well."  
  
The weight on my shoulders lifted as the four boys joined me, Charlie hobbling over soon after, Lupin in tow. Professor McLaren sat in a chair and folded her legs. She gave us a disdainful look and as soon as she was satisfied that were all uncomfortable, she smiled.  
  
"Mister Lupin please leave this classroom. I have no need for you," she said in a harsh voice.  
  
I heard Lupin give a noise in protest but Professor McLaren dismissed him with a flick of her hand. Damn she was sassy. She turned to the rest of us and smiled.  
  
"It has come to my attention that you six are the worst students at nonverbal spells I have ever had the misery to teach." I saw Charlie's face fall as mine did. "Oh, I'm kidding," Professor McLaren snickered but her grin soon fell. "But seriously, you are horrid. So, I have concluded that you will be working in groups of two, figuring things out and perfecting the art of nonverbal spells. So, as follows, Meaver and Potter, you shall be paired, James and Longbottom, Black and Pettigrew."  
  
I sighed, more joyful than pissed. Frank was probably the best partner for me at this moment. I don't think I could stand any of the others at the moment. I could see he was a little relieved as well. Frank Longbottom was a strange little boy, he was. He was quite attractive but a complete spaz.  
  
He had never been good with spell work, or the physical attribute of spell work, but always seemed to pull top marks on written works. He obviously knew what he was supposed to be doing, so maybe he could help me and in turn I could help him once I had mastered it. Professor McLaren dismissed us and as I left the room, Frank caught up to me.  
  
"Mademoiselle James," he said winking.  
  
I leaned against him, threading my arm through the crook of his. "Monsieur Longbottom."  
  
"So I was wondering if we could work on the spells tonight. I've finally finished that Charms assignment that was due last week" – I gave him a reproachful look – "and since you're usually in the library, want to meet up there some point?"  
  
I shook my head. "Quidditch practice. Some dolt got himself detention and the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw practices have been switched for today and tomorrow morning."  
  
"Okay, well how about tomorrow night?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Meet me in the library after dinner and we'll work."  
  
He nodded and dashed off down the corridor, tripping up as he rounded a corner and almost falling. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Oh Frank. He was probably the only Gryffindor I could actually stand. Suddenly, my arm that had just recently been left cold by Frank was warm and I looked up into grey eyes. Shit.  
  
"What do you want Black?" Then my other arm was grabbed a hold of. "Potter, same goes for you," I growled.  
  
I suddenly realized thatthiswastheexactsituation wewereinnottwenty minutes ago,althoughI now hadmywand and no professors werearound. I quickly tried to fumble through my robes but the idiots held tight to my arms and dragged me into an empty classroom.  
  
"If you're planning on raping me," I said, a dull lull in my voice, "please do it soon as I need to get to my next class."  
  
"Wow, even in the face of danger the Ravenclaw doesn't flinch until it comes to tardiness," Potter exclaimed.  
  
I rolled my eyes and let my body drop, the dead weight surprising them. They let me go more from shock and I quickly grabbed my wand from my robes, turned onto my back and fired something at them. They quickly dived out of the way and I shuffled backwards like a crab, my wand clutched in my hand. I hit something and looked up to see Potter's unruly mop of hair tickling my forehead as he bent down. I sighed and he pulled me up by my armpits.  
  
"The bloody hell was that? We weren't actually going to rape you? And even so, don't you carry mace or something?"  
  
I sighed. "I just don't want to be around you boys. What do you want from me?"  
  
They shared a look and Potter grinned. "Well, considering the match against you old toss pots is coming up, Padfoot and I were wondering if you could help us plan a party."  
  
"A party?" I raised my eyebrows. "I would be a good person to plan a party. Like a massive rager of a party?"  
  
Black chuckled. "Well, we'd need the Ravenclaws. Think of it as a simple party for the sake of–"  
  
"For the sake of getting drunk and shagging girls," I finished for him. "How about, no."  
  
I tried to walk away but Potter leaped over a desk and gave me what I thought was an attempt at puppy eyes. Although to me it looked like someone was desperately trying to copy the expression of a troll.  
  
"Think of it as a reconciliation. Plus, we've been officially banned from the kitchens so we need someone to get food for the party and who better than the second best quidditch team?"  
  
I feigned innocence. "But you just said you were banned Potter. How ever will you manage?"  
  
"Very funny, Ravenclaw. I'll take that as a yes?"  
  
I took a step closer to him until our chests touched. "Make it worth my while and you might have a deal."  
  
With that I turned on my heel and walked out the door, Potter and Black high-fiving behind me. I really shouldn't have said that I might consider, I thought to myself. But if it's a chance to get drunk, then this new Lexi shall party hard.  
  
I was panting, waiting for Carter to finally end practice like he should have an hour ago. Charlie hadn't shown up, which was a good thing, but Carter seemed even more tense and psychotic than normal. When he finally said his last word, we touched down and I made my way to the change room. I was in desperate need of a shower. But first I had to talk to Carter.  
  
"Day!" I yelled as he paced near the change rooms.  
  
He had sprinted as soon as the meeting was over and had just put down his broom when he began to walk back and forth. He looked up and gave me a harsh look.  
  
"What is it James?"  
  
"What you said to Charlie earlier today, what did you mean?"  
  
His gaze hardened if that was possible. "Why don't you ask her? She's already been too much of a prat today hasn't she? No use ruining my good mood."  
  
I nodded and headed back towards the girls' change room. Good mood my arse.  
  
I stumbled up to the six year girls' dorm room. Damn I was tired. It was late. I was glad to be going to bed even if I hadn't quite finished all my homework. At least tomorrow I had the entire day off of quidditch. I sighed as I opened the door and made my way to my four-poster. Falling onto the bed not bothering to take off my quidditch kit or to put the blankets over my shivering body, I opened my eyes to slits as I heard retching. The door to the bathroom was open and I could see Charlie on her knees in front of the toilet.  
  
Part of me wanted to go over and comfort her, but then I remembered that she didn't need me anymore. She had Lupin and didn't need me anymore. I sighed and turned my head, literally turning the other cheek. I saw Kendra in her bed, furiously kissing some boy. I rolled my eyes and flicked my wand, her drapes moving to form a sort of protective cover from my eyes. Muttering a silencing charm at her bed, I felt my eyes droop and I fell asleep, wand still in hand.  
  
"Alex. Please wake up. Lexi! Alexandra!"  
  
I grumbled and turned over but the person shaking me didn't stop.  
  
"Alex I need you to wake up now!"  
  
I sat straight up and looked over at the person shaking me, my hair covering my face. I guess I looked quite creepy, or a little miffed, as Charlie flinched.  
  
"What?" I said in an icy tone.  
  
"I'm bleeding," she said, pointing to her pajama paints which were stained with blood in the front.  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Your very first period," I said sarcastically. "Good job Charlie!"  
  
"No, Alex, you don't understand. I tried to tell you but I felt as if you would judge me and I just couldn't. I couldn't lose you but now I think I did and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have told you…"  
  
"Charlie," I said, cutting her off, "what did you want to tell me?"  
  
She took a deep breath and her eyes welled up with tears. A few fell down her face and she put her head down.  
  
"I'm pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Ha! Next chapter will be what happened at that Gryffindor party from Charlie's point of view. Maybe it will clear some things up.


	6. The Party: Charlotte Meaver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what did happen during that Gryffindor party? This is Charlie's tale...

The water splashed over my face, my salty tears washed away as they appeared. At this point I didn't know how much I had cried because the shower made it completely impossible to figure out how much salt water had leaked out of my eyes.  
  
It was my usual routine after I had cried a lot. Stand in the shower and just letting the water run over my face was a mourning ritual for me. And when I got out, my face wasn't scrunched up and red like it normally was after, which was a big plus. I sighed and let the water rush over my face and decided that an hour in the shower was long enough. I turned off the knob and jumped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around myself. Memories flashed at me as I fell against the wall and sat on the floor.  
  
 _"Charlie, I don't think I can stand this anymore. We've been together for how many months? Over six. And you still haven't told your best friend. And I can't even tell my friends!"_  
  
 _I sighed and massaged my temple. "Carter, I do want to tell people, it's just I don't want people thinking you treat me different on the quidditch team because I'm your girlfriend."_  
  
 _"No one is going to think that! You are an amazing beater and, by the way, no one else tried out for that position."_  
  
 _"But if you act nicer to me or give me special privileges, people will talk."_  
  
 _He rolled his eyes. "Does it matter if other people talk about us? Who the bloody hell even cares about what I do? I'm not that well known and I can assure you that my love life isn't a really good topic of gossip."_  
  
 _"But you don't know how some girls are! You're cute and some girls like you." He smiled slyly and I hit him in the back of the head. "So either they'll try and break us up by spreading rumours and flirting with you in plain sight of me or they'll make my life a living hell with said rumours."_  
  
 _Carter, who gave me a sheepish look after the whole hitting him on the head, let his gaze go hard. "You're a fucking Ravenclaw Charlie. I like you because you're smart and great at quidditch. You are great fun and amazing at conversations. No one's going to break us up, ever, and rumours mean nothing."_  
  
 _I shook my head, playing with his fingers to distract myself. "I can't go through that. Not for this."_  
  
 _"Not for this? Charlie, I'm beginning to think that maybe this relationship is a little one sided."_  
  
 _I shook my head and brought my hands to his cheeks. "No, no! I swear this isn't just you. I really like you Carter Day. And I always will."_  
  
 _He smiled and I kissed him._  
  
 _"Merlin, Carter you told him?"_  
  
 _"Charlie, it's your fault that you want this relationship to be this huge secret. I'm beginning to think you're embarrassed to be seen with me. Like we're together."_  
  
 _"No! But I need to be able to tell people when I feel comfortable doing so! And you've gone and told the Ravenclaw sixth year boys. I haven't even told Alexandra yet!"_  
  
 _"Is that really my fault? You're the one who still doesn't want to go public!"_  
  
 _"Carter I don't want to seem as if–"_  
  
 _"As if you slept with me to get on the team?"_  
  
 _"YES!"_  
  
 _"Well maybe you did!"_  
  
 _"Carter, I haven't even slept with you."_  
  
 _"Well maybe that could be your answer when people ask you if you did. Because I'm done trying if you're just going to keep me quite as your little secret."_  
  
 _"Carter, I just can't."_  
  
 _"Well, I can't either. One week. I don't think I can pretend I don't feel anything for you anymore. One week for you to tell everyone close to you and then we go public. Or you can keep it hushed and I'll call it off. One week to choose, Charlie."_  
  
 _"Charlie, I trusted you!"_  
  
 _"And I thought that maybe you could see how I felt. Obviously you're just like every other boy. Completely insensitive."_  
  
 _"Charlie, I love you! I don't want to lose you!"_  
  
 _"Well, you're the one who's breaking this off!"_  
  
 _"BECAUSE YOU SEEM TO HATE THE IDEA OF TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT US!"_  
  
 _"DON'T YOU DARE YELL AT ME!"_  
  
 _"WHY NOT? IT'S NOT AS IF YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT I WANT! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE THAT I ACTUALLY WANT TO TELL MY FRIENDS ABOUT HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT YOU! YOU JUST THINK ABOUT HOW OTHER PEOPLE WILL SEE US!"_  
  
 _"Carter, I just… I can't!"_  
  
 _"And I can't keep doing this. Have a nice life, Charlie. And be ready for quidditch season."_  
  
I was sitting on the cold bathroom floor, the towel still wrapped around my body as my legs were curled up underneath me, my arms holding on to myself, trying to keep me together. Tears ran down my face and I quickly wiped them off. I had to keep it together. It would be horrid if Carter broke it off just to have people find out two days later about us. Either he would lose it, or be so smug I might have to quit quidditch to avoid his gaze.  
  
I stood up, gripping the towel with all my might. I had to get out of this cold, tiled room and figure out how to stop both my tears and Alexandra's, who was still sobbing so loudly, I could hear her.  
  
I couldn't ever tell her, but I was ecstatic that Diggory had broken it off. That manipulative bastard believed he could do anything and she would forgive him. Of course, that was partly true because she never caught him doing anything over the top, but he was still an arse hat in my books. Even if he had made her happy.  
  
But if Alexandra ever found out, she might go completely postal and I don't like Alexandra when she goes completely postal. So I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. The cold air rushed in and violently kissed my skin. I shivered but quickly walked over to Alexandra's bed. As I sat, she looked over, her bright green eyes puffy and red, tear tracks dividing her face. I tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace so I stopped.  
  
She hiccoughed. "Carlie, is everything okay?" She asked.  
  
"No," I said, shaking my head," not really. I – I just wanted to tell you that…"  
  
Oh Merlin I couldn't actually tell her about Carter, could I? I realized that my stupid mouth was running before my mind had time to process what I was saying. Yeah, I'm so sure I'm a Ravenclaw.  
  
"Go on," she pressed and I made something up.  
  
"I'm really hurting because of you. To see you like this hurts me."  
  
I guess I am a Ravenclaw after all. I moved closer to her as tears continued to race down her face and hugged her. But my heart was heavy. Was I always going to have to lie about what had happened between Carter and me? Was this how he felt? Completely confused as to why I had wanted it to remain a secret? Because I felt silly all of a sudden. It was completely stupid to have kept that from everyone.  
  
I felt tears course down my own cheeks and I silently cursed myself. Alexandra had apparently not cried everything out and it seemed like enough water to fill a river. As I heard the doorknob to our dorm turn, I quickly sat up and patted her head. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and ran over to the bathroom. I looked around at the steamy room.  
  
My clothes were still on the ground. I hadn't wanted to touch them. Although our encounter was only earlier today, Carter's betrayal hung on them like a skunk's stench. I turned the shower back on and stepped in, letting the water rush over me again, hopefully covering the redness of my eyes. After about five minutes of sorrowful showering, I got out and wrapped the damp towel around me again. I opened the washroom door, then stopped.  
  
Alexandra was talking to Kendra. It seemed willing. And they weren't yelling at each other! But both of them were looking at me, Kendra with a strange glint in her eyes. She stormed over and I cringed.  
  
"Get back in there and use my shower supplies. Whichever set you want, but you will use all of it, down to the shaving cream and the perfume."  
  
I looked over at Alexandra but she did nothing but say, "Do what she says Charlie. Don't worry I know what's happening."  
  
I stood in the doorway, frozen with confusion, until Kendra shoved me into the washroom, grabbed my towel and closed the bathroom door almost all the way. Her arm was still in the washroom but as soon as she yanked the towel away from me, she slammed the door and left me naked. I shivered and instantly grabbed another towel from the rack, although this one was hardly large enough to circle my body.  
  
"What the fuck? Kendra I just had a shower."  
  
"Darling, that was a pity fest," she scoffed. "I'm going to bet you stood there and cried your eyes out."  
  
I grumbled but did what Kendra said. She was right. Rifling through the drawer Kendra kept her shower sets in, I chose a chocolate raspberry smelling one. It smelled very strong, but the bottles assured the smell would dissipate once I had it on. I sighed and turned the shower on again.  
  
Using all the bottles and tubes from the set took a while.  
  
The entire set included shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, body scrub (what was the difference between the wash and the scrub, I didn't know, although the scrub had little beads in it), a loofah sponge, face cleaner (again, the difference between the cleaner and the wash was lost on me), shaving cream, razor (and yes it smelled like chocolate raspberry too for some reason), body lotion, face moisturizer, body butter (butter, lotion, what's the difference other than 'extra concentrated for use on elbows and knees'), foot cream (?), perfume, and for some reason, a small bracelet.  
  
Once I was entirely done with my shower and the lathering of the different moisturizers and perfumes over my arms, legs, face and torso, I grabbed the tiny towel and, because I had stupidly left my wand on my bedside table, had to open the bathroom door by and inch to yell at Kendra to give me my proper towel back.  
  
Sticking out my hand and feeling the familiar texture against my fingers, I quickly wrapped that one around myself, gathered my clothes that I had left on the floor and stormed out of the bathroom. I gave Kendra a withering look as I closed the hangings around my four poster and got dressed in lounging clothes. As soon as I opened the curtains again, Kendra was in front of me. I shrieked and she smirked.  
  
"What the hell was that all about?" I scowled.  
  
Kendra winked. "Alexandra has a special surprise for your night."  
  
"Bloody hell, she's planning on going to the Gryffindor party, isn't she?"  
  
Kendra giggled and nodded. I rolled my eyes. Well, at least she was looking forward to something, right? And it seemed as though she had stopped crying, so I guess she was getting over everything.  
  
"Seriously Kendra, if you push me too far, I won't be afraid to jinx you."  
  
She smiled. "No you won't. But you won't bother doing so because this helps Alexandra."  
  
I looked at the bathroom door. Alexandra was currently taking a shower and using Kendra's shower sets. Or, one of them. I sighed and nodded and she took her wand and sat me down in a chair in front of the mirror in our room. I was beginning to calm down. Then she magically tied me up and gagged me.  
  
Kendra had just left the room. She had shoved me into an ice blue dress that had straps (thankfully), but it was skin tight and barely covered my arse. Alexandra had gotten off lightly. At least she had shorts, although they looked like bathing suit bottoms if I was being honest. But her pretty green tank top was gorgeous and she looked striking. Kendra had played up her eyes and put the bare amount of colour on her lips. She looked me up and down and nodded appreciatively before speaking.  
  
"You look good Charlie. She did quite a good job.  
  
"We both look like slags," I grumbled.  
  
"But nice-looking slags that aren't cheap."  
  
I rolled my eyes but quickly turned my attention to my homework. Or, the revision of, to be more accurate. Alexandra began to read. After a while, I put my homework down and stared out the window in our room. You could just about see the whomping willow. I sighed and watched it sway in the breeze. I realized that it was me.  
  
Everything was moving fast, and all I needed was for someone to get through the harsh exterior, pause the movement, and let me calm down. They could make it through my guarded walls only then. But could anyone else see this in me? No, I told myself. And now that Carter's gone, no one ever will.  
  
Lights and music surrounded me, as well as people, moving to the sounds. I had quite a few drinks of what I assumed to be spiked butter beer. Well, I guess more than just quite a few. Everything was a little fuzzy and at one point, Alexandra just disappeared on me. But I just laughed and began dancing with other people.  
  
I looked up at one point and saw a boy in front of me, getting way too close. I gave him a slight smile but put my hand to his chest and pushed away a little. He shrugged and went off somewhere else. I sighed and tried to turn around, but the blue heels Kendra had forced me to wear made me trip and I fell, the floor rushing up towards my face. Right before my nose smashed into the ground, I stopped. Then I fell. I groaned and people rushed over to help me up.  
  
"I saw you fall," one boy said, putting his wand in his back pocket as he grasped my arms and pulled me up. "I stopped you from the biggest impact, but I'm sorry I couldn't right you."  
  
"No, no," I said. "That's fine. Thanks."  
  
He smiled and led me over to one of the couches. I stumbled on the way there and he wrapped his arm around my waist to steady me. When we finally got to the couch, he shooed a couple that were getting _very_ physical away. Letting me sit down first, he pulled a small vial out from his pocket. Unscrewing the lid, he passed it to me. I looked at him curiously.  
  
"It's a tonic. Helps dilute the alcohol in your blood."  
  
"I've been told not to accept drinks from people I don't know."  
  
He smiled. "So you don't know me now?"  
  
"No, I know you. You, sir, are Remus Lupin. Gryffindor and 25 percent of the group informally known as the marauders," I said, giving the small vial an uneasy look.  
  
Lupin smiled. "So why not drink it?"  
  
"Because I don't know your intentions."  
  
He sighed and ran a hand through his sandy hair. Taking the vial from my hand, he winked.  
  
"Bottoms up!"  
  
Downing the vial in one large gulp, he pulled a similar one from another pocket and handed it to me. I shrugged and opened it. Sniffing the dark liquid, I flinched. It smelled like my quidditch kit after a hard practice in the rain. Not a good smell. With a wary look at Lupin, I brought the vial to my lips. A light taste of what I assumed to be rotten lemons rested lightly on my lips and I brought my other hand up to pinch my nose.  
  
Years ago, I had heard that if you pinched your nose before eating of drinking something nasty, the taste would be almost unrecognizable. All this time later and nose pinching hadn't failed me.  
  
I quickly tipped the vial and the dark liquid dripped into my mouth. As soon as I was sure that all the foul stuff was in my mouth, I closed my mouth and swallowed. I gagged and almost spit the putrid liquid out but I was able to down it before said spittage occurred. I began to choke as it went down my throat, a burning sensation making me thirsty. Lupin began to rub my back as I tried to regulate my breathing.  
  
"Is it supposed to burn?" I asked, my voice raspy from the coughing.  
  
"Yeah," he said, giving a small cough himself.  
  
"Is my head supposed to be spinning?"  
  
"Yeah, that'll go away in a few minutes. The music doesn't help, does it?"  
  
I gave a throaty laugh. "Not in the slightest!"  
  
"So, Charlotte, I've seen you around Hogwarts. You don't seem like the party type."  
  
I scowled. "It's Charlie. And I'm not. My friend Alexandra wanted to come after an intense break up with _Diggory_. And I was dragged along for company, wearing this ridiculous thing Kendra calls a dress."  
  
Lupin looked at my outfit. "Well, sorry Charlie. And to be honest, maybe it's a good thing Diggory ended things. He isn't much of a good person, is he? And I quite like the dress."  
  
I blushed and turned to stare at the people dancing. I didn't quite like compliments. I've only ever liked honest opinions, and compliments always seem dishonest. Mostly because I've only ever heard my dad give random women compliments. And that was to get them in bed. Yeah, my father is definitely not a good role model. So as Lupin blushed himself, I stared at the ground, my hand unconsciously going up to rub the back of my neck.  
  
"Um, thanks," I said, and he looked up to give me a smile.  
  
I was kissing him. My back was on a bed and he was on top of me. My hands were in his hair, on his face. His were on my waist. I slowly pulled my hands down over his chest, letting his slowly snake up my stomach. His fingers lightly feathered the wire of the bra I was so happy to have been able to wear, instead of the demon death-trap that is the strapless bra. Sighing against his mouth, I pulled my leg up around his waist, my barely there dress riding up. Merlin, I thought to myself, this is one hell of a way to get over Carter.  
  
I woke with a start to see the familiar red drapes around the four poster. Wait! RED? I sat up as fast as I could and looked around. Lupin was lying next to me, the sheets I had pulled with me when I sat up at his waist, his chest uncovered. I looked down at my own chest and squeaked. Grabbing the covers and holding them over myself, I looked around.  
  
From what I could see, I was in Lupin's bed, naked, and the last thing I could remember, we were kissing. On said bed. BLOODY HELL! I got out of his bed, holding the sheets over myself as best I could. Looking around and trying to find all of my clothes, I looked back at the bed and quickly threw the covers over Lupin. Obviously neither one of us were in our right minds as neither of us had thought to put our clothes back on.  
  
Mentally screaming at my own stupidity, I quickly put all my clothes on. Remembering that I left my wand in my dorm, I tried to figure out how to open the red hangings without waking Lupin up. Stumbling over a shoe, since I couldn't see in the dark, I heard rustling from the bed. I looked over and Lupin was staring at me, a smirk on his half-asleep face.  
  
"Hey," he said quietly. "What's up?"  
  
I froze, the hangings grasped tightly in my hand. "I am not here," imitating Professor Trelawney. "You are just dreaming."  
  
With that, I opened the hangings, jumped out and raced out of the room.  
  
My makeup was definitely smudged, my dress wasn't zipped up in the back and my hair was a mess. And I hadn't even seen myself in a mirror. Tears cascaded down my face. I ran through the Hogwarts hallways, trying to find my way to the Ravenclaw dormitory. When I finally got there though, I saw Alexandra and Diggory at the door. I stayed behind the corner as I heard their muffled voices.  
  
I really didn't want to talk to Alexandra at this moment and I _really_ didn't want to talk to Diggory. Ever. As soon as the voices stopped though, I turned around the corner, only to walk straight into Diggory. I looked up at his stony face and grimaced.  
  
"Diggory," I said coldly.  
  
"Meaver. Looking well, as always."  
  
I scowled at him. "I would say the same, but you never look well."  
  
"Ooh, harsh words there Meaver. Might want to be a little nicer to me. I mean, are you going to tell Alexandra about your one night stand?"  
  
"I didn't have a one night stand!"  
  
"The smudged makeup, the horribly put together outfit, the crazy hair. And coming back to your common room late at night. If those aren't one night stand signs, I don't know what are."  
  
I stiffened. "Yes, because you would know, Diggory."  
  
He smirked. "Why yes I would. But that doesn't matter does it? You can't tell Alexandra or else I'll tell her about you and the quidditch captain."  
  
"Yeah, about that? We're done. So you can't hold that over me anymore you insufferable prat!"  
  
Diggory's smirk seemed to grow. "But I have this."  
  
I silently cursed myself and outwardly cursed at him as I walked past him. He began to laugh and I had to pause, squeezing my hands into fists so hard, I felt my nails draw blood. As he walked by, I uttered the answer to the riddle that the knocker asked and walked into the common room. And walked right into Carter. He took one look at me and turned away, disgust written all over his face.  
  
"Carter!" I said as he took a step onto the stairs that led up to the boys' dormitories. "Carter, this isn't what it looks like."  
  
He turned to look at me, hatred in his eyes. "Really? Because it looks like you shacked up with the first person you could find to show me you don't care about me anymore and did the walk of shame as soon as you woke up."  
  
I was about to say something but I realized, I had. I had done exactly what he said. So I watched him walk up the stairs and leave me in the common room by myself, crying even harder than before. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I sat down on one of the couches and fell asleep.  
  
I woke up groggily and looked at the clock on the common room wall. Four in the morning. My night was not going well. I sighed and got off the scratchy couch, making my way up the girls' stairs until I reached my dormitory door. Opening it and stumbling through the darkness onto my bed, I heard rustling from Alexandra's bed.  
  
"Charlie," she whispered groggily. "Charlie, what time is it?"  
  
I cursed myself silently. I got off my bed and walked over to hers. Sitting on it, I tried to hide the fact that, for one, I had slept with someone, and two, that I had been crying.  
  
"Hey sweetheart, how are you? I didn't wake you did I?"  
  
"Charlie what time is it?" She asked more forcefully.  
  
"It's four in the morning. I did wake you didn't I? I'm sorry sweetheart. Go back to sleep."  
  
She grabbed my hand forcefully and I winced. "Charlie, you don't sound drunk. But you came back late. Charlie, what did you do?"  
  
"Go back to sleep sweetheart, we'll talk in the morning, okay?" I said, tracing her face with my nails and smiling at her.  
  
She smiled back, a mischievous grin. "Does Charlie have a boyfriend?" At this, my face fell. "Does – Oh I'm sorry Charlie I won't tease you anymore, okay?"  
  
"That's okay Al. Now go to sleep."  
  
She did and I went back to my bed. Just as I was about to get under the covers, I heard a hiss from one of the other beds. I rolled my eyes and got into bed, not bothering to change because I might wake Alexandra up again and I didn't want to be interrogated. As soon as my head hit the pillow though, someone jumped on me and slapped a hand over my mouth. I tried to scream but the aforementioned hand kept my protests silent.  
  
"You dirty little slag," a voice hissed in my ear.  
  
I relaxed and Kendra took her hand off of my mouth. I groaned as she got under the covers with me. That was mine and Alexandra's not-so-secret code for 'It's talking time.' Kendra seemed not to notice my obvious discomfort, or seemed not to care if she did.  
  
"Who was it?" She whispered excitedly.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kendra dearest."  
  
"Oh please. You slept with someone, dirty little slag."  
  
"Stop calling me that!"  
  
"But it's true. Makeup smudged, outfit trashed, hair mussed, and coming back early in the morning. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Take it from a real, veritable slag. I know when someone has had amazing fun."  
  
I rolled my eyes and shushed her. "Keep it down. I don't want Alexandra to know."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because it's not something to be proud of, Kendra!"  
  
"Really? Because I quite like doing so."  
  
"Kendra, I'm not you. I don't want the news of my exploits all around Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh come on. At least tell me who it was."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "If I do will you promise to keep it a secret? To not tell anyone? And to stop pestering me?"  
  
"Fine," she said rather reluctantly.  
  
"Um, Remus Lupin."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
I shushed her again, going so far as to slap my hand against her mouth as she did. "Kendra!"  
  
"Sorry," she whispered. "So, anyways, was he any good?"  
  
"Kendra!"


	7. Pregnancy, Werewolves and Towels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie's in the Hospital Wing, Kendra spilled the beans and a werewolf is attacking me. This night is probably the worst of the year. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

"Kendra, you better tell me who the Merlin-forsaken boy that shagged my very best friend and _impregnated her_ is or I swear, I will knock your teeth out."  
  
So sue me, at this point, physical violence was my only option. Charlie had made Madame Pomfrey, the new, young, and very pretty nurse, swear not to tell me who had knocked her up. And believe me, I was starkers.  
  
A raving lunatic had more common sense than I did at this moment. But you couldn't blame me. My best friend wakes me up in the middle of the night, tells me she's pregnant and that she thinks she had a miscarriage (confirmed by Madame Pomfrey only minutes later after I rushed her to the hospital wing), and won't tell me who the father is.  
  
Bloody hell, this isn't supposed to happen. I'm supposed to enjoy my sleep after a horrible quidditch practice and wake up late the next morning. So, the enraged me had decided enough was enough. And I cornered Kendra in our dorm, demanding she tell me who it was after she let it slip that 'I told her so.'  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"Bullshit!" I shrieked, throwing my fist towards her face.  
  
Zoe and Sydney, upon seeing my enraged state (actually, upon being woken up by my enraged state), had grumbled and told us they would be spending the night with their 'acquaintances' from seventh year, in their dorm. Kendra and I couldn't have cared less when they left. To me, they were extremely annoying.  
  
"No, I swear –"  
  
I took another swing at her and she ducked.  
  
"Kendra, I know you know who it is!"  
  
"And how would you know that exactly?"  
  
I pointed at myself. "Ravenclaw."  
  
"Really?" She said, sarcasm oozing from her voice. "Because you _still_ haven't figured out who it is."  
  
"Kendra, I will flay you!"  
  
I tackled her onto a bed and held her down, my knees on either side of her, my hands gripping her wrists over her head. She grinned maliciously.  
  
"Well this position seems rather familiar."  
  
I gave her a disgusted look and put both of her wrists in my hand, trying to make sure she wouldn't escape.  
  
"Tell me or I'll tickle you."  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
"I would."  
  
"Well, too bad, I won't tell you."  
  
"Fine then."  
  
Just as I was about to start tickling her – something that she avidly _hates_ – she screamed.  
  
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"  
  
I grinned and sat on her, waiting. When she didn't start talking immediately, I made to tickle her again.  
  
"Lupin!" She shrieked. "Remus Lupin! Honestly, how did you not see that?"  
  
"Well sorry for assuming my best friend wasn't a slag like you!"  
  
"Hey," she said, sounding wounded. "I resent that."  
  
"Well it's true. You're a slag."  
  
Kendra shrugged. "Okay, fine. But I had to kick my shag for the night out when Charlie started screaming about bleeding so I deserve recognition. I'm a slag with standards." I gave her a look. "Well, they aren't high standards, but they are standards."  
  
I shrugged and got off of her. She seemed relieved and rubbed her wrists.  
  
"Sorry if I hurt you, by the way," I said regretfully.  
  
She smiled, a glint in her eye. "Don't worry, I'm used to that sort of treatment."  
  
"Kendra!"  
  
"What? It's fun to see you flustered and talking about that gets you flustered."  
  
I humphed. "Anyways, how did you get him up here? And get him out for that matter?"  
  
She smirked. "I have my ways."  
  
"Anyways, Remus Lupin is the bastard?" I asked and she nodded slowly. "If only I could go postal on his arse now, that would be great. I'm going to be up all night planning his murder."  
  
Kendra smiled and looked out the window from our dorm. "Well, if you really want to, he's out on the grounds now."  
  
I gave her an incredulous look and she nodded, pointing out the window. I walked over and saw Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew standing near the Whomping Willow.  
  
"That's not Lupin you toss pot."  
  
"No, but when do two of the marauders got off on their own in the middle of the night?"  
  
I pondered that for a moment before grinning. "Kendra, you are a genius.  
  
She smirked and pointed at herself.  
  
"Ravenclaw."  
  
I barely had enough time to grab a jumper before I was running out of one of my favorite secret passageways.  
  
One of the benefits of being a brilliant mind and having one as a best friend, but unfortunately neither of us being able to tell our left from our right, was figuring out passageways around the school. I knew we hadn't figured out all of them, but we were pretty well off with them in mind.  
  
As soon as my feet touched the cold grass, – I had forgotten shoes – I shivered as the cold air nipped at me through the jumper. After getting out of bed, waking Kendra and deciding the best place for Charlie was the hospital wing, I had put on a bra and a t-shirt but hadn't bothered changing out of my pajama trousers.  
  
They were loose and thin and provided no real protection against the cold. My jumper was also quite thin and I saw the faint light of an illuminated wand as I raced closer and closer to the last place I saw the damned boys. My hair, tangled and flying out behind me, whipped around in the wind and stung my face when it struck.  
  
I kept running, my own wand firmly grasped in my hand as I saw Black and Pettigrew drop down a small hole in the roots of the Whomping Willow. I frowned. What were those devils planning? I walked over to the small hole in the ground and stared at it. There was no way in hell I was following those numpties somewhere unknown.  
  
Just as I was about to jump into it – not unlike that fairy tale I had read as a child where a girl jumps down the rabbit hole and ends up in Wonderland – I heard a creaking. Looking up, I saw a branch from the Whomping Willow swaying in the breeze.  
  
Ignoring it, I looked back down into the hole just as a shrieked ripped through the air, seemingly coming from the hole in the ground. I jerked back and a groaning made me look up again. As soon as my head was tilted upwards though, a harsh pain hit my stomach and I felt myself flying. I hit the ground with a thud and my head smashed against it.  
  
I let out a gasp and heard that horrific scream again, although closer, even if the first time it had been coming from the hole I had been crouching over. I sat up and couched against my jumper sleeve. A small patch of darkness spread on the fabric but I took no notice.  
  
A dark figure had emerged from the hole I had been staring into, tossing aside a slightly smaller, shaggier figure as it went. A howl echoed through the grounds.  
  
"Werewolf," I gasped.  
  
I stood up as fast as I could and turned, racing as fast as I could towards the Forbidden Forest. As branches and leaves slapped my face, I ran faster as I could hear another howl, closer than the last. My breath became ragged and soon, I couldn't breathe.  
  
My lungs seized up and I fell as my foot caught on a bunch of roots. I panicked and hid behind a large tree. I heard the pants of the thing coming closer and closer, its feet cracking fallen branches. I closed my eyes and waited.  
  
Suddenly, I felt hot breath on my face. I opened my eyes to stare directly into the harsh eyes of the monster. I screamed and it reared, an enormous paw rising up and falling again, aiming for me. Just as it was about to hit me, a grey figure with antlers slammed into the beast, catching it off guard.  
  
I took the opportunity to get up and run, not bothering to look behind me or think about my breathless state. There was no way I was letting that thing get to me without a fight. But, as I turned around to see nothing but forest behind me, I stopped to catch my breath.  
  
Turning back around, my breath caught in my throat as I saw the werewolf's dark shape looming overhead. I took a step back and snapped a small twig under my bare foot. The werewolf's head snapped towards me.  
  
"Oh shit," I gasped. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"  
  
The werewolf ran towards me. But just as it lunged at me, a large black shape leaped out of the bushes and slammed into it. I took my chance, turned and ran away from there. Running Merlin knows where, I just kept going, looking back every once in a while to make sure the beast wasn't catching up to me. I began to pant after a little while and suddenly I jumped clear of the trees.  
  
I saw the familiar shapes of the quidditch pitch and sprinted. The change rooms could provide me with some sort of protection against a werewolf. At least I had my wand with me. I ran, but my lungs burned. My legs buckled and I fell. I heard padded footsteps behind me. Hot breath on my neck made me scream and I shielded my head with my arms.  
  
But instead of the pain I was expecting, a sharp bark made me turn over and stare at a large black dog. A scramble in the woods behind me and a yelp of pain told me the werewolf wasn't that far behind. I jumped to my feet and the dog bit down into one of my sleeves.  
  
I thanked Merlin that my jumper was oversized. The dog's teeth had barely missed my fingers. With the dog half dragging me towards the quidditch pitch, I stumbled every so often as my breath stopped over a knee gave out. I heard the screams of the werewolf behind me and ran faster. A low growl sounded a little while away but all I had to do was run a few more steps and then the Ravenclaw girls' change room could be my safe haven.  
  
I stumbled but the dog dragged me and I shoved the door open as fast as I could, letting the dog in before slamming it with a bang. Pulling out my wand and using every spell I knew to keep the door closed, I put my back against the wall next to it and slid down to sit.  
  
Pushing through my hair with a hand, I swore as I realized how sweaty it was. I had just taken a shower! My hair fell over my face as I panted.  
  
Suddenly, footsteps came from the shower area, and they weren't the sounds of paws. I scrambled up and pointed my wand towards the noise. Stepping forward bit by bit, the door suddenly shuddered, the werewolf's cries were heard and I turned, pointing my wand at the door.  
  
When I was satisfied that the door would hold, I shuddered and turned back towards the shower area. I shrieked as I looked up to see none other than Sirius Black right in front of me. Stumbling back, I shot a curse at him but he ducked.  
  
"What the hell?" He asked.  
  
I cowered in a corner, pointing my wand at him. "The bloody fuck just happened?"  
  
"I asked you first."  
  
"And you suddenly appeared in the Ravenclaw girls' change room after I was attacked by a werewolf. I think I have priority. And talk quickly because I am so close to hexing you. Also, on a completely unrelated note, why aren't you wearing _any_ clothes?"  
  
"Well, there's a werewolf, although I bet your _brilliant mind_ already figured that out. And I would expect a clever girl like you to realize what's happening."  
  
"You know what? I'm tired and I was just chased by a bloody werewolf! Give me some credit. I'm not a genius _all_ of the time."  
  
Black sighed and drew a hand through his hair. He was holding a towel around his waist, so my earlier statement about no clothes was sort of true. No clothes, but there was something covering… all _that_.  
  
He shook his head, letting his hair fall into his eyes again and looked at me. I realized how strange I looked. Sweaty, pajama pants, a thin jumper, hair a mess, wand outstretched, scratches all around my face. Yes, I was quite attractive.  
  
"So, you run into the Ravenclaw girls' change room with a dog and barricade the door. Then, the dog disappears and I appear, with only a towel around my waist. You might not be a genius at the moment but you sure aren't dumb."  
  
"So, what you're trying to tell me is that you're an animagus? You're truly a dog? Like no pun intended, but are you being serious? That's fucking _illegal_! You expect me to believe that crockpot of shit?"  
  
He chuckled. "Um, yeah, I guess so."  
  
"Okay, say I believe you. Does that answer my earlier question of what the bloody hell just happened?"  
  
"I believe the word was fuck and not hell."  
  
I scowled. "Oh, sod off you pansy."  
  
"Well, a werewolf attacked you."  
  
"No shit, Sherlock!"  
  
"Who's Sherlock?"  
  
"No one," I growled. "Just get on with your story."  
  
"Isn't that the full story? You came outside and got attacked by a werewolf?"  
  
"No! No it isn't! I want to know who that fucking werewolf is, why you're an animagus, where the hell that bastard Remus Lupin is, – and if I assume that the other crazed animal with antlers is a person – who that is, as well as how the hell you stay in shape."  
  
I was wheezing, my breath labored as I coughed once in a while, the dark stain on my jumper growing. Black looked mournful as he began to talk.  
  
"You shouldn't have come outside. Damn it! Gah! Okay, so I can't tell you who the werewolf is, it's not my place to say." I gave him a harsh look and he shrugged. "The animagus thing is because of the werewolf thing, so I can't tell you either. I can tell you that James is the stag – the other crazed animal with antlers – and why exactly do you want to know how I stay in shape." He smiled a sly smile. "Have you been ogling my handsome body?"  
  
He struck what I could only assume to be his version of a model-esque pose and I snorted.  
  
"No, but I'm wheezing after a few minutes of running and you seem to be completely fine."  
  
"Nah, you were totally checking me out!"  
  
"WOULD YOU SHUT IT?" I shrieked. "I'VE JUST BEEN ATTACKED BY A WEREWOLF AND YOU ARE MAKING LIGHT OF THIS BLASTED SITUATION!"  
  
"Whoa, calm down, you loon."  
  
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I –"  
  
I was just about to let all hell rain down on him when he shushed me. I gave him a confused look and opened my mouth, determined to yell at him for being so infantile. Of course, that only made him rush closer to me and clamp his hand over my mouth.  
  
My eyes went wide as they stared directly at one of his collarbones. I heard a faint yelling from outside the door and whimpered. I did not want to come face to face with the werewolf. Black looked down at me and rolled his eyes.  
  
"It's Prongs, er, James."  
  
I took his hand off my mouth. "James? That's not me out there."  
  
"Har dee har har. It's Potter. I'm going to go find out what he wants."  
  
I was about to let him leave when I noticed something on the ground. I quickly tapped him on the shoulder and he turned.  
  
"Forgetting something, Black?" He gave me a confused look. "Something like, a towel?"  
  
He looked down and swore. Looking behind him, he saw exactly what I had noticed moments before. The royal blue towel with silver lining he had on to cover his… business… was lying on the ground where he was before he had rushed over to shush me.  
  
"Cover your eyes," he demanded.  
  
"Already on it."  
  
I put a hand over my eyes and didn't uncover them until I heard the door to the changing room slam shut. When I opened my eyes, I saw no one in the changing room and sighed.  
  
Thank Merlin! It was just strange to see boys – especially Gryffindor boys – in the Ravenclaw girls' changing room. I heard rattling at the door a moment later and shrieked. I heard a voice, muffled by the door, instead of the howls I had been expecting. I calmed my heartbeat down and inched towards the door.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"James! Let us in! Now!"  
  
It was Black and it sounded urgent. I quickly opened the door and let Black's head poke through the door.  
  
"Hello sweetness," he started as I glowered, "or sourness. Can you get us some more towels?"  
  
"Why?" I asked, suspiciously.  
  
"Hey, it's my namesake!" I heard from behind the door. The voice belonged to James Potter. "Dearest Miss James," he started," I am buck naked and it is freezing outside. My arse is blue and I'm not going to start on what is happening to my –"  
  
"I'm getting the towels!" I yelled to stop him from finishing his sentence.  
  
Storming towards the shower area, I opened the small linen closet and got out a large stack of royal blue towels with silver lining, exactly like the one Black had taken. But just as I was about to close the linen closet, I noticed something.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no. Black!"  
  
I stormed over to the door and yanked it open enough to throw the towels on the ground. Sounds of protests were muffled by the door but all I did was lean against it, my arms crossed.  
  
A minute later, I opened the door again to see all four marauders, towels around their waists and a few more pressed against what seemed to be Remus Lupin's unconscious form. I propped the door open as they all passed through, dropping Lupin onto one of the benches. As soon as they took a step back, I attacked him.  
  
"You horrid bastard! Go fuck yourself! I can't believe you had the audacity to make conversation with me knowing what you did!"  
  
Potter and Black grabbed my arms as I tried to strangle Lupin. They dragged me away and I turned on Black.  
  
"And you! How dare you steal my towel?"  
  
"Your towel?" He asked.  
  
"Turn around," I said, twirling my finger.  
  
He did and I shrieked. Potter began to guffaw and Pettigrew giggled like a prepubescent girl. Black turned back, terror on his face.  
  
"What? What?!"  
  
Potter laughed. "You have the words Alexandra James printed on your arse."  
  
"That's my towel!" I shrieked.  
  
"Well, it's not as if I _tried_ to use your towel," Black said defensively.  
  
"I dry my hair with that towel."  
  
"I _am_ sorry."  
  
"I'll have to burn it. The house elves will never get it clean enough."  
  
I couched into my sleeve then and heard a moan from the unconscious Lupin. Having forgotten he was there, I fixed my glare on him as Potter helped him sit up without the royal blue towel falling off his unmentionables. When he noticed me he winced.  
  
"What the fuck? You're a werewolf?" I said quietly, turning on him. "You did what you did and you're a werewolf? Are you insane? You should be put down!"  
  
Black came up and put a hand on my shoulder in warning. "Don't judge him. It's not his fault."  
  
"Not his fault?!" I shrieked. "He knew full well what he was doing when he was doing it!"  
  
"Stop being such a bitch," Potter said as Lupin's head fell in shame. "He doesn't have control."  
  
"Doesn't have control? He has as much control as you numpties but he couldn't keep it together. He's a monster," I said, taking a step closer.  
  
Black moved with me, trying to move between Lupin and I, his chest almost pressed against my own as I strained to look over his shoulder in a menacing fashion. But Lupin shook his head as Potter turned to me, fury on his face.  
  
"It's not because I'm a werewolf," he said quietly. He looked straight into my eyes as he said, "You know about Charlie."  
  
"Charlie?" Black asked. "You mean Miss James' best friend?"  
  
I nodded, shaking with rage. "Yeah, Charlie. All about how you slept with her and left her with a parasite."  
  
"I'm sorry, what?" Potter asked, confusion written all over his face.  
  
"He slept with Meaver?" Black asked incredulously.  
  
"Yeah," I said, "and now she's pregnant. Or at least, she was."  
  
Lupin's face went from regretful to worry in less than a second. Black and Potter were, unfortunately, still stuck on the fact that their friend had slept with someone.  
  
"But to get a girl pregnant, you have to shag her."  
  
"He actually _slept_ with a _girl_?"  
  
Even Pettigrew joined in. "I always thought he was gay."  
  
If we were in a movie, the music would have stopped with a screech. All of us turned to stare at the half-naked boy – and in truth, I may have been staring at his chest because, let's face it, he was pretty well built, though not as built as the other three – and he smiled sheepishly. Lupin himself stared at him in shock while simultaneously pressing a towel to one of his worst scratches. I shook my head and stared at Lupin.  
  
"Yeah, so while you were out here, jumping around as a fucking _wolf_ by the way, Charlie woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me she was bleeding."  
  
All the boys immediately looked at the ground until finally, Pettigrew looked up.  
  
"Was it her _time of the month_?" He asked quietly.  
  
I looked at him with disbelief until I realized all of the boys were staring at me with the same confused expression on their faces. Sighing, I began to massage my temples.  
  
"When you're pregnant, you don't have a _time of the month_ you tossers. Do you nothing about girls? This is really serious – not you!" I said as Black was about to say something about himself. "She lost the baby, which might be a good thing," I shot a look at Lupin, "all considering."  
  
Lupin tried to stand up but he seemed to have hurt a leg and fell over onto Potter. The two fell onto the ground and I quickly looked away as I heard 'My towel!'  
  
"Where is she?" Lupin asked "Can you bring us to her?"  
  
I sighed, my eyes fixed on the wall, giving the boys behind me some time to cover themselves up. Seriously, why didn't they have clothes?  
  
"Okay, well first, maybe you guys want to put some clothes on? And second, she's in the Hospital Wing. I think you guys were planning on going there anyways, all considering."  
  
With this I coughed against my sleeve again. The boys took this as a question and told me everything was covered. I turned around and Black was helping Potter to hold Lupin up. I coughed again and they all looked at me.  
  
"Okay, well when Lupin went all wolf and stuff," Potter said, "he sort of ripped all of our clothes. The scattered remains of my favorite shoes are still in the shrieking shack."  
  
His mournful sigh was echoed by the other three boys and I rolled my eyes. This boys were the vainest people I had ever met. And I lived with Kendra. I coughed again and they all looked at me.  
  
"I'm just coughing you guys. It's nothing, really."  
  
But Black walked over and stood right in front of me. I raised my eyebrows, crossed my arms and cocked my hip. But he wasn't really looking at me, he was looking at my lips. He took one hand and brushed it against my bottom one. My breath hitched and my eyes widened. He brought his hand up to his mouth and licked his finger and my eyebrows lowered in confusion.  
  
"That's blood. You've been coughing up blood."  
  
I put a hand over my mouth and looked down at my sleeve. His eyes followed mine and he took my hand in his, pulling my jumper sleeve up to his nose. He sniffed it and grimaced.  
  
"How long has this been going on?" He asked.  
  
"Um, well I've been coughing since Defense. But I've had this jumper on since I got outside. I hadn't noticed it was blood."  
  
"Yeah, you're coming with us to the Hospital Wing."  
  
"No! I can't! The match is this weekend!"  
  
"But your health is more important than quidditch!" Lupin stated.  
  
Black, Potter and I gave him a look that clearly said 'No it's not.' He shrugged and sat back down, Potter helping him. I crossed over to the other side of the room and sat down on one of the benches myself. Black and Pettigrew sat next to Potter and Lupin.  
  
"Okay," I started, "are we supposed to be going to the Hospital Wing soon?"  
  
The boys looked at me incredulously. I shrugged.  
  
"We have to wait until its morning. That way no one asks questions. And that means you have to wait for morning too."  
  
I sighed and walked over towards the door. Pulling it open, I saw a little bit of sun peeking up over the horizon. Closing the door and walking back over to my bench, I gave them a look.  
  
"When's morning?" I asked.  
  
Black shrugged, Potter shrugged, Pettigrew shrugged, and Lupin snored. We all looked at him and Black shrugged again.  
  
"I'm going to guess we have a few more hours of sleep. Don't bother waking him up." He said the last part to Potter who was just about to shake Lupin awake.  
  
I shrugged and made my way to the shower area. Pettigrew shielded his eyes and I glanced at him curiously.  
  
"I don't want to see you undressing." I gave him another look. "You're going to have a shower, right?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "No, but I'm dead tired and if you haven't already noticed, there aren't many pillows here. I'm thinking towels are my best option."  
  
I walked over to the linen closet and pulled out three towels. Walking back over to my bench, I draped one over the wood panels and used the other two as a pillow. Lying down, I closed my eyes. Then I remembered something and stuck my hand out, pointing to where I thought the boys were.  
  
"Do not wake me until it's time to leave. And do not leave me here lest you want the wrath of me upon your shoulders."  
  
I guess they must have murmured in agreement, but I was out like a light almost as soon as my arm curled up against me again.  
  
I woke up with a hand on my upper thigh, _very_ near my arse. I was draped over someone's naked shoulder and I could see that – thankfully – this boy had kept his towel on. And then I saw the silver lettering.  
  
"Put me down Black," I growled.  
  
"Now how did you know it was me?"  
  
"You still have my towel on you prat."  
  
"Ooh, Miss James, have you been staring at my arse now?"  
  
I snorted. "Considering it's the only part of you I can see, I can't really look anywhere else. Now put me down. Now!"  
  
"Well, I don't think it's fair for you to be the only one to have a good look, is it? And to be honest, I'm pretty sure you've done more than just stare at my arse. I saw you ogling me while I had on the towel."  
  
I felt a pinch on my arse and I squeaked. Struggling, I may have kicked Black in the stomach and he doubled over, letting my bare feet touch the ground. I began hitting him until he let me down. Then I continued to hit him until finally, he grabbed my wrists. I glared at him and he glared back.  
  
"Don't touch me _ever_ again," I hissed.  
  
Pulling my wrists away from his grasp, I ran up the hill he had been climbing, passing Pettigrew and Potter who were helping Lupin climb it. They turned back to give Black a look but I just passed by them, rushing into the small alcove that led into the passageway I had come out of only a few hours ago. I left for the Hospital Wing, desperate to get there before they did and hopefully leave before I had to see their faces again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Oh geez. I guess that just set Sirius Black. So, if you want to review, I would be extremely happy.
> 
> On another note, I'm still deciding whether or not Charlie should stay with Remus or try to get Carter to forgive her. If you tell me what you think, I promise to take it into account. So, Thanks for reading!


	8. Flying, Falling and Hospital Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. I'm the new beater, Tom's the new seeker, but what other surprises are in store for us? Also, does this bat make me look fat? I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

I shivered, my nerves shaking me to my core. It was time for the match. Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. I was excited to say the least. As soon as I had gotten to the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey had let Charlie go and I brought her back to the dormitory where Kendra was snoring peacefully.  
  
Yes, Kendra, slag extraordinaire, snores.  
  
But back to Charlie. I told her not to talk to me for a little while. I was still livid. The marauders also gave me space but I always caught them staring at me. It was mostly Black so I usually just shot them the finger.  
  
But now, it was match day. And Charlie was my partner in crime today and the marauders were the opposition. I held my bat in my right hand and adjusted my wand with my left. I had and anklet holster that held my wand underneath my robes so that I always had it on hand. Or, more accurately, on foot.  
  
I was standing by the door, waiting for Charlie and Amelia Givens, the only other girl and only female chaser. When they were finally ready, we left the changing room and walked over to the boys' room. I knocked on the door and opened it a little bit.  
  
"Is everyone decent?" I called and I heard murmurs of agreement.  
  
Amelia, Charlie and I walked into the room, dropping onto one of the benches. This was our usual ritual before a game. The girls would get ready before the boys and everyone would hang out in the boys' changing room.  
  
They were essentially the same room although they were mirror images and the boys' smelled about 100 times worse. As I looked around, I saw that all the boys were shirtless. As usual.  
  
It always seemed strange to me that the boys took longer to get ready than we did, but as I got older, I realized they were doing that on purpose.  
  
And I didn't mind. Not one bit.  
  
Quidditch boys always had sculpted chests. And though I wasn't particularly attracted to any of them, I had to admit they were beautiful specimens.  
  
Alexander was drying off his hair (I guess he had taken a shower), Carter was tying up the bottom half of his kit while simultaneously flexing, Jackson was standing in front of the mirror combing his hair and Tom, cute little Tom, was sitting down, fidgeting with the top half of his kit.  
  
"Okay boys," Carter said and they all put on their kits. "Girls," he nodded at us, "time to go."  
  
We all walked out and got into position, waiting for the pre-match commentary to start. Carter turned to us and started his pep talk.  
  
"Okay then. This match is against Gryffindor. If we beat them, all we have to do is win against Slytherin and the Cup is ours. I saw the Hufflepuff team practice, and they are about as good as last year. So, Alexander…"  
  
"Yup, watch the hoops, stay in the air, and be awesome like I always am."  
  
Carter nodded. "Amelia, Jackson."  
  
"We're doing the arrow formation today, right?" Amelia.  
  
"No, I thought that we were doing the crisscross formation." Jackson.  
  
Carter sighed. "We went over this at practice. Crisscross reverse arrow."  
  
Amelia and Jackson nodded and Carter turned to Charlie and me.  
  
"Charlie, Lexi."  
  
"I protect the team and hit the bludgers to Charlie." Me.  
  
"And I aim them at the Gryffindors. Notably the chasers." Charlie.  
  
Carter nodded and turned to Tom. "Tom."  
  
"I will stay on high ground for five to ten minutes then go to low ground for five to ten minutes. When I switch, I'll just find Lexi to make sure she hasn't seen the snitch yet."  
  
Carter nodded. "Okay team. Let's show those lions how these eagles can fly."  
  
We nodded and grabbed our brooms, waiting for Carlos Jordan to begin his, somewhat funny, commentary. We heard the microphone screech and all of us flinched. Then, Carlos Jordan's voice could be heard around the pitch.  
  
"Hello, hello, fellow quidditch fans. Are you ready for an amazing match?"  
  
Screams echoed around as Jordan tried to keep control of the crowd.  
  
"Okay, okay. Now, let's get on with the show. First up, the Gryffindor team."  
  
Cheers from the Gryffindor side of the pitch pounded against my ears.  
  
"There goes Derek Wood, the keeper; Sirius Black, a beater; Anthony Shaklebolt, a chaser; Carl Spinn, the other beater; Theresa Ortega, another chaser, who looks very gorgeous today, maybe she might even let me take her to Hogsmeade in two weeks – Ouch! Sorry Professor."  
  
Jackson was shaking at the comments about his sister. The twins had been split up in first year as Jackson had been put in Ravenclaw and Theresa had been sorted into Gryffindor.  
  
But Theresa had grown up to be extremely attractive – and Jackson too, but let's not focus on that – and Jackson was still extremely protective of her.  
  
But at the sound of what I assumed to be Professor McGonagall hitting Jordan in the back of his head, Jackson seemed a little more cheerful.  
  
"Anyways, here comes James Potter, captain extraordinaire, and it looks like – yes! Captain James Potter is now chaser. The brilliant seeker has relinquished his position in favor of the last chaser position. And by gosh, the exquisite Callie O'Hara has been named seeker. The Ravenclaws surely haven't prepared for this."  
  
And we hadn't. During the scrimmage we had played against them, Callie O'Hara had been the third chaser and Potter had been the seeker. Like last year. We had planned for that, not this rubbish. But I couldn't keep my mind on it. Jordan was already introducing us. I threw my leg over my broom, gripped my bat and took off as we set off.  
  
"Keeper: Alexander Kingston; chasers: Amelia Givens, Jackson Ortega, twin brother to the gorgeous Theresa, and newly appointed captain, Carter Day; beaters: Charlotte Meaver, and by gosh, another switch in the ranks. Brilliant mind and seeker Alexandra James is now beater! The new seeker, Tom Higgins, will have some big standards to reach today."  
  
I saw Tom fly up and I knew he was going to be scanning the pitch as soon as the snitch was let out. I had been teaching him at every practice and was proud of how dedicated he was to getting better. He was now just about as good as I was my first year on the team.  
  
"Lexi!"  
  
I turned to see Charlie racing towards me, her short hair flying in the wind.  
  
"Lexi, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Lupin. Or Carter."  
  
"CARTER?!" I screamed.  
  
She blushed. "I was sort of dating him. But I didn't tell anyone because…"  
  
"Because you didn't want people to think you had gotten on the quidditch team because you were dating," I said, understanding.  
  
"See? You understand!"  
  
I shook my head. "Are you kidding me? You didn't tell me you shagged Lupin, you didn't tell me you were preggers, and you didn't tell me about dating Carter?! Let's just get this match over with."  
  
"Please, I'm trying to say I'm sorry for keeping everything from you."  
  
"Yeah, well I don't care. Let's just get this game over with."  
  
"Wait!" I had turned but looked over my shoulder now. "Lexi, I know I've been keeping secrets from you. But I really need my best friend right now."  
  
I turned back around and glared at her. "Why?" I said harshly.  
  
"Because, I think I'm in love with Carter."  
  
So long story short, I laughed at her. Yes, I laughed. I am a horrible person. She herself had begun to giggle, so it's not that bad. I just couldn't think of Carter and Charlie together.  
  
They usually bickered so much and never had they said anything remotely romantic or flirty to the other. When I had started laughing it was because I was thinking about their marriage vows if they wed.  
  
'I, Charlotte Meaver, want this prat as my husband because he's got a nice bod.'  
  
'I, Carter Day, need this woman to be my wife because I'm so grumpy no one else will take me.'  
  
Yes, my imagination is very weird. But I also needed something to break the ice. I missed my best friend. So we concocted a plan while waiting for Madame Hooch to release the bludgers.  
  
Potter and Carter had not been very cordial when she had them shake hands. But now it had been 20 minutes since the snitch had been let go and neither Tom nor I had seen it.  
  
Neither had O'Hara, although that was a good thing. I had been racing around hitting bludgers away from our players and to Charlie who seemed unable to miss her targets.  
  
The only reason no harsh injuries had occurred yet was because the Gryffindors seemed very capable of dodging bludgers, and their beaters seemed to have developed a similar tactic, though it didn't work as well. As I was zipping through the air, I brushed past Tom.  
  
"Snitch," he whispered as he began a slow descent.  
  
I knew what he was doing. He was pretending to circle around the pitch, but when he got too close to the snitch to pretend, he would zip after it. I raced towards Charlie and gave her the signal.  
  
Actually, the signal is to say the word 'signal.' So not a very subtle signal. Aren't we Ravenclaws just brilliant? She nodded and she subtly followed him. Since I was the one who usually kept the bludgers from hitting our teammates, no one would realize Charlie was trailing Tom, since they would be waiting for me to protect him.  
  
Yes. Aren't we Ravenclaw just brilliant? So as I chased after the bludgers, pounding them at any of the Gryffindor players except O'Hara (so as not to show them that Tom had caught sight of the snitch).  
  
Just as I had blindly hit a bludger, aiming at a large red blob, I raced off to find my path cut off by none other than Black.  
  
"Are you trying to kill me?" He yelled angrily. "Stop aiming at my head."  
  
I scoffed. "I wasn't trying to do anything. I'm just playing the game!"  
  
"Well, could you do it without trying to take my head off?"  
  
"Stop being such a baby, Black."  
  
"Oh, you mean like you Miss I-Don't-Care-If-A-Werewolf-Attacks-Me-But-If-You-S o-Much-As-Touch-Me-I-Will-Try-And-Kill-You."  
  
"You pinched my arse! That is very inappropriate conduct!"  
  
"Really, because I'm pretty sure staring at my arse is inappropriate too."  
  
"Yeah, too bad I _wasn't_."  
  
"Oh sure you weren't."  
  
"And the two beaters, Black and James, are arguing over something on the pitch. Perhaps it might have something to do with the bludger James lobbed at Black's head? Whatever the case, there seems to be sexual tension between the two," said Jordan into the microphone.  
  
I looked over at him and glared, though he probably couldn't see me, and looked back at Black. Somehow, during our argument, we had flown closer to each other and my left shoulder and knee were touching his, our faces too close for my comfort.  
  
I swore at him and took off, sending a bludger Jordan's way as I flew. Just as I stopped at one end of the pitch to turn and survey it, I turned and saw a bludger headed directly towards me. I put my hands up to shield my face but I felt a sharp pain in each arm as it hit me.  
  
I was falling. The wind whipped at my hair and I could hear my name being screamed as I felt the dead weight that was me fall faster and faster. Then my eyes snapped open. I pulled my wand out of the anklet-holder and brandished it, pointing at my broom.  
  
"ACCIO!" I shrieked.  
  
As it came whizzing towards me, I stuck a hand out and barely grabbed it as it went by. I tried to pull myself up but the wand in my hand made it difficult. I was barely aware of Jordan's commentary about how someone should really help me out. Suddenly, I was aware of someone's hands on my waist. I looked over my shoulder to see Black trying to help me onto my broom. I kicked out at him.  
  
"Don't touch me," I hissed and pulled myself up by myself.  
  
I vaguely registered the cheers coming from the crowd and Jordan's comment on my not so subtle rejection of Black's efforts to help me as I summoned my bat and took to the air.  
  
I saw Charlie trying to keep the bludgers from Tom, but Spinn had realized that Tom had seen the snitch and had begun trying to take him out every chance he got. O'Hara had been notified and now she flew after him.  
  
I swore loud enough for Jordan to comment on it – 'And the beautiful beater should have her mouth washed out with soap!' – and raced around, trying to get the right angle. Finally, I put myself into position just as O'Hara caught up to Tom, both of them speeding along.  
  
"Charlie!" I yelled and she looked at me.  
  
Nodding, she flew off, leaving the area clear. I swung at a bludger that was coming at me and the crack from the bat echoed around the pitch as everyone went silent.  
  
Both seekers had their arms outstretched but as the bludger flew towards them, it hit the end of O'Hara's broom.  
  
Her broom keeled backwards and she did backward flips while Carter edged forward, chasing the tiny golden ball. I watched, completely enthralled in his attempt to catch the snitch. But then, I heard Jordan, screaming into the microphone.  
  
"AND BEATER SIRIUS BLACK BLASTS A BLUDGER AT THE RAVENCLAW SEEKER. WILL TOM HIGGINS BE ABLE TO DODGE THE FAST APPROACHING MISSILE? OR WILL THIS FURTHER CONTINUE THIS GAME?"  
  
I gasped and saw the bludger Jordan was talking about racing towards Tom. I quickly started flying through the air, racing towards Tom as the bludger closed in. But my bat was slowing me down.  
  
I had noticed a while ago that the bat added a bit of weight to the broom and I was faster without it. So I threw it to the side and lowered myself, letting the broom go faster. Tom was getting closer and closer as I had looped around to fly at him instead of trying to catch up with him.  
  
I raced past him just as he stretched his arm out a little further to try and catch the snitch, angling myself just right. I stopped my broom and tried to shield myself. But, the bludger hit me, again. And I went down, again.  
  
My eyes fluttered open. It was dark. Really dark. But I could hear murmurs from somewhere. I waited, lying in an uncomfortable bed, my head aching. I put my hand up on my head and felt bandages. My eyes widened and I strained to hear what the voices were saying.  
  
"But Albus, I'm not comfortable doing this. I've done as much reconstruction as I can but the healers at St. Mungo's will have to do the rest. I can't work on someone with a skull fragment lodged in her brain. It's a miracle she's not dead."  
  
"Oh Poppy, I realize the risks. But are you completely sure there is nothing more you can do for her?"  
  
"I'm sorry headmaster."  
  
With that, I heard tiny clicks as Madame Pomfrey walked away. I assumed Dumbledore was still there as I heard no other movement. Finally, the drapes around my bed moved and Dumbledore's head peeked through, the light that was hidden from me before rushing through and hurting my eyes.  
  
"Ah! Miss James. It is nice to see you awake. You must have heard Poppy's concern, did you not?"  
  
I nodded slightly and winced as a sharp pain raced through my head. Dumbledore seemed regretful as he walked to the edge of my bed.  
  
"Oh dear. Your head is it?"  
  
"Yes, sir," I said, not chancing another head jerk.  
  
"Yes, well, unfortunately, I will be sending you off to St. Mungo's. It will only be for a week," he said as I looked at him in alarm, "and then you may come back, hopefully completely healed. But while you are at St. Mungo's, I believe that your sister wouldn't mind getting a visit. You haven't seen her since…"  
  
I sighed. "Since July, sir."  
  
He smiled at me. "Then it's settled. You will leave tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, you will have to be side-along apparated, but consider it practice for next year."  
  
I nodded and Dumbledore smiled. Giving me a small pat on the arm, he turned to leave but stopped.  
  
"And Mister Black, perhaps you should not hide yourself. To give Miss James a surprise, considering her medical state at this moment, might not be the best idea," he said.  
  
I sat straight up as he said this and looked around, my movements jerking the bandages on my head, which brought pain shooting up my spine and stopping at my head. As Dumbledore left, I saw a shimmering to my right and I scooted back against the bed as it revealed Black, holding a strange cloak.  
  
He seemed nervous and ran a hand through his hair. I had pulled the covers up to my neck, even if I knew I had something on underneath.  
  
"Hey," he said and I glared at him.  
  
"What are you doing?" I hissed. "One, you aren't supposed to be up at this time of night, and two, I don't like you."  
  
"I'm sorry," he blurted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I was the one who hit those bludgers. I'm the reason you're in here."  
  
I sighed and rubbed my temples. "You hit those bloody bludgers at me? You're the reason I have to miss a week of school and spend that week in _St. Mungo's_ of all places?"  
  
He smiled sheepishly and nodded. I growled and searched around for my wand.  
  
"I will jinx you until you are a slug that can only talk in Hungarian. You won't be able to bend over to touch your knees because you won't have any knees to touch. I will –"  
  
"Your wand is in that drawer," he pointed to the one on the bedside dresser. "But I don't suggest using it as it will draw Madame Pomfrey over and she dotes on you when you're unconscious as if you're a baby bird. Imagine the horror of her fawning over your poor self when you're awake."  
  
I sighed grumpily and crossed my arms. He gave me a smile and sat down on the bed next to me. I scooted as far away from him as I could, but he still grabbed my hand and held onto it with both of his.  
  
"Just promise me you'll come back the same person." I gave him an incredulous look and he smiled sheepishly. "I still need to get the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors together for that big party."  
  
I rolled my eyes but I did give him a small smile. Perhaps it was the potions Madame Pomfrey had given me in my unconscious state, but my head was getting a little funny. As Black got off the bed, he pulled the cloak over himself and disappeared.  
  
I gasped. It was a veritable invisibility cloak. I had only ever read about them in books and heard about them in class. But before the shimmering space of air that I assumed was Black left, I felt a hand covered in fabric take mine, and a pair of lips covered in fabric kiss it.  
  
I was happy he completely closed the drapes as he left so he couldn't see how red my cheeks got. But just as I was about to lie back down, I heard a chuckle from where I had just seen him disappear. I rolled my eyes and held up my middle finger.  
  
"If I could move without this intense pain in my head and I could actually see where you were, I would slap you, you prick," I said nastily, but only half-heartedly.  
  
I heard his chuckle and lay down as the drapes moved again. But just to be sure, I stuck my hand out in front of me.  
  
"Black? Are you still there? Sirius?"  
  
There was no answer, so I let my hand fall and closed my eyes. I fell asleep quickly, the sleeping draft Madame Pomfrey had given me (I saw the empty bottle on the bedside dresser) making my eyelids heavy and my head drowsy.  
  
 **Sirius' Point Of View**  
  
She had fallen asleep quickly. I had stayed, though she didn't know. As soon as her breathing had settled I had taken my hand and smoothed down some of her hair that had fallen into her face. The brown strands had obscured her face from my view.  
  
This girl intrigued me. She wasn't the first to reject me, the amazing Sirius Black, but she was the first to stick to her decision.  
  
She was head-strong, she had constant mood swings, she seemed internally injured (although not that coughing bit – I had Madame Pomfrey sort that out as soon as she was brought to the Hospital Wing), she called me out on things no one would dare call me out on, and she wasn't interested in me.  
  
Well, she wasn't interested in playboy Sirius Black, the most eligible bachelor of Hogwarts. She seemed interested in the real me though; that immature boy with a real sense of the world that made appearance whenever I was with her.  
  
Maybe not in that sense – yet – but in the sense that she really, truly, would have a fine time if we hung out together. But when I left, I had to go past Remus' bed. And he wasn't too pleased.  
  
"Padfoot!" He whispered angrily (if that's possible when your voice cracks like a pubescent teenage boy).  
  
I had sighed and walked over to his hospital bed. He had smirked as I sat down in the chair next to his bed.  
  
"You really like her, don't you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Sorry. You seem very fascinated by her."  
  
I smiled sheepishly and felt a strange blush creep to my cheeks. "She's not like any of the other girls in this blasted school. She has substance, morals. She likes quidditch, she's smart, she's not afraid to stand up to anyone."  
  
Remus smiled. "In short, she's everything you wish _you_ could be."  
  
"But that's just it," I said, leaning back in the chair. "I don't want to be like her. She has constant mood swings, she has an unruly temper, she's headstrong, and she feels compelled to stick to her first impressions of people. Who would ever want to be like that?"  
  
Remus guffawed. "That sounds exactly like you, Padfoot. Honestly, everything you like about her, sorry, everything that _fascinates_ you about this girl, is everything you wish you were. And everything that makes you take a step back is everything you have in common."  
  
I opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish as his words sunk in. He smirked in the dim lighting and I swatted his arm.  
  
"You, my friend, are a horrible therapist."  
  
"Dr. Moony in the house," he laughed and I couldn't help laughing as well.  
  
I was at the portrait of the fat lady, but just as I was about to say the password, I stopped and turned, squinting to see the painting across the (for lack of a better word) stair gap thingy.  
  
The painting depicted a pair of brass binoculars that were quite familiar to me. Smiling, I turned to the Fat Lady and uttered the password.  
  
"Omnioculars."  
  
She gave me a slight smile but the portrait swung open and I climbed into the Gryffindor common room. There was no one but a small redhead sitting on one of the couches.  
  
I smiled and tiptoed over. It didn't seem like she had noticed I had entered the common room, so I used that to my advantage. As soon as I was behind her, I put my hands over her eyes and felt her stiffen.  
  
"Little redheaded girl all alone in the common room. Maybe little redheaded girl should be more observant," I hissed in her ear.  
  
"Black," she said in a bored tone, "stop being creepy. How would Potter like it if he knew you were whispering in my ear?"  
  
I laughed and took my hands off her eyes, jumping over the edge of the couch and sitting down beside her.  
  
"What's up Evans? Late night studying?"  
  
"Yeah. Runes suck."  
  
"Don't I know it! Why'd you take it if you hate it?"  
  
"I don't hate it," she scoffed. "I just don't quite understand it."  
  
"Well, let's see the problem."  
  
She gave me a look. "You understand runes?"  
  
"Not completely. But two heads are always better than one, right?"  
  
She nodded and five minutes later she had finished all her translations.  
  
"Wow! You're really smart Sirius," she said, putting her parchment, quill and ink bottle into her book bag.  
  
"Well, I am the genius of Gryffindor house," I teased, pushing her a small bit.  
  
She giggled and put her head on my shoulder. "You shouldn't be doing what you're doing."  
  
I tensed. "Yeah, you're right. So let's do this right. _James_ is the genius of Gryffindor house. He is _so_ fit. I've seen him changing for quidditch and stuff and you should snatch him up now Evans. A fit boy like that will eventually get tired of your rejections."  
  
"Oh Merlin, you're so stupid," she sighed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I meant with Al – Lexi. She doesn't deserve that crap. And right after that prat Diggory? If she ends up developing feelings for you, you'll crush her!"  
  
"Well why don't you just tell her? That way, you can be sure that I won't 'crush' her."  
  
Lily sighed. "I want to, but Potter made sure I couldn't."  
  
"Oh! It's because you don't want everyone to know your secret obsession with his lips."  
  
Lily stiffened and immediately moved away from me. She gave me an accusing glare.  
  
"He _told_ you?"  
  
"Um, maybe?"  
  
"Merlin! That prat!" She stood up and grabbed her book bag forcefully. Her green eyes flashing, she turned on me. "Well you can tell _Potter_ that if he comes within five feet from me, I will personally make sure his beautiful hair will fall out and never grow back again!"  
  
As she stomped towards the girls' stairs, I stood up and put the invisibility cloak over my arm.  
  
"Hey, Evans," I yelled at her. She didn't bother turning, but stopped nevertheless. "You just said his hair was beautiful."  
  
She began stomping up the stairs again, screaming "Go to hell, Black!"  
  
I laughed and made my way up the boys' stairs, busting through the six year boys' door, still laughing. Jumping into my bed, I heard rustling from James' bed and before I knew it, he had flopped down next to me.  
  
"Why you laughing you tosser?" He said groggily.  
  
"Well Prongs, it seems as if you've landed quite a keeper."  
  
"Keeper?" He yawned. "Lily's not a keeper. That's Wood's job."  
  
I laughed as he went to sleep beside me. Turning the other way, I saw Remus' empty bed and Peter's form in his own four-poster. While girls would come and go, these three boys were my best mates. I closed my eyes, surrendering to dreams about the next great prank we would pull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N.: So next chapter will be the Gryffindor party according to Sirius Black, and the next will be (most likely) according to Remus Lupin. Although you sort of know what the stories will go like, it will definitely be a breath of fresh air to me, writing these stories through the eyes of the boys. And hopefully, will be the same for you. Now, if you have any ideas for how their night might go, I am more than happy to accommodate those ideas. And, as last time, if you want to do a sort of vote for who Charlie should end up with, I'm getting a better idea of who I want her with, but other people's point of view might help me decide for sure. Thanks! Keep reading 'cause it gets better!


	9. The Party: Sirius Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what did happen during that Gryffindor party? This is Sirius' tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Special thanks to Expecto-Prongs on for Beta'ing my last chapter and this one. I cannot express how delighted I am that you took the time to do this for someone else that you hardly know. Props, regards, awesome sauce… Basically, thank you with all my heart. Also, sorry for the wait (Alanah) and I hope you like this chapter. Next one probably won't take as much time, but be prepared to wait at most a month for it. This one, however, is told from Sirius' POV. Read, review, favorite, follow, etc. Thanks!

"Are you ready then, Prongs?" I said, pulling on my shirt.  
  
He grinned at me. "Lily? Drinks? Spin the bottle? I am absolutely ready!"  
  
I laughed and so did Remus.  
  
"And you, Moony," I said, turning to him, "are you ready? You know, you might actually win your bet this year with this party."  
  
He rolled his eyes, but James, Peter and I started guffawing as his cheeks reddened. Ah, Remus. The poor, dear prude. James was busy trying to figure out what perfume ('It's cologne!') Lily would like best. The poor sap.  
  
He was mighty fit (as we all were), but he never really got on with the ladies. Mind you, that was of his own choice. He wanted none other than Lily Evans. For him, it was Lily Evans (you don't have to say Evans again so soon after you already did) or bust. Peter was figuring out what shoes he wanted to wear.  
  
"Merlin, Peter! Just put your trainers on! It's not that hard!" I said, instantly regretting my choice of words. "Oh, shut up Prongs," I growled. "Just keep putting on your perfume."  
  
"It's cologne!" He whined. "And I didn't even say anything in the first place..."  
  
"It's perfume," Peter stated and I discreetly high-fived him as he went past.  
  
"Okay. Jordan's on music duty, we've already got the alcohol, Lily Flower's got the lights –"  
  
"Shove it, Potter," the fiery redhead snarled.  
  
"Sorry, sorry. Alice got the house elves to make awesome party food, and Kendra's getting the word out. Did I miss anything?"  
  
I smiled at James and threw my arm around his shoulder, my other around Lily's. "Nope! Everything is ready my friends! The Gryffindor party is ready for take off!"  
  
With that, I pushed them together and walked away, satisfied at the red tinge that decorated their cheeks. James started to stammer while Lily got quiet and turned away. Pretending to look at her manicure, I saw her eyes shift nervously as James slowly moved away before speaking.  
  
"So, Evans. Mind saving me a dance for tonight?" He asked, his right eyebrow raised.  
  
I glanced at Remus and saw that he too had noticed James' quavering voice. Usually our best mate couldn't wait to come onto Lily, always cocky. But this time, he seemed a little more nervous. And she did too. That is, until her eyes flashed and she turned on him.  
  
"I would love to, Potter," she said, way too innocently.  
  
James perked up but I felt something was wrong.  
  
"Lily, don't!" I cried.  
  
"In fact, why don't I save you a dance –"  
  
"Please, he's so excited!"  
  
"– after I sleep with the giant squid–"  
  
"Now she's started."  
  
" – and join the bloody Slytherins in killing muggleborns!"  
  
"And she's finished," I said, patting James on the back. "Really, Lily? Did you have to do it that so scathingly?"  
  
She shrugged and walked away, grabbing Alice and leaving the common room. James leaned into me and began to moan, the only intelligible words being Lily's name and 'but I'm handsome.' I laughed and walked over to Mary, one of Lily's dorm mates. She looked up as she heard me and smiled coyly.  
  
"Mister Black. Whatever is it that brought you over here? Could it be my amazing charm?" She winked and I smiled.  
  
"Not at all, my dear Mary. Just wanted to know how you were doing with, well, with Alice."  
  
Her smile fell. "Sirius, you know that Alice is straight, right? And I would appreciate you _not_ stating anything of my 'condition' somewhere public like the flipping _common room_!"  
  
"Sorry, Mary. But I'm a joker. No one will believe me, anyways."  
  
She glared. "Well, I would appreciate if you could refrain from doing so anyways."  
  
"Fine, Mary. Fine. Now, how's about a good luck kiss? To show anyone who's heard me that you are a normal girl?"  
  
She rolled her eyes but leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips. People thought Mary and I had a thing for each other because, ever since third year when we had kissed at a seventh year party we had snuck into and she told me she fancied girls, I had always made a point to keep her secret a secret.  
  
Having a family who didn't love me was hard enough as it was being who I was, but Mary's family was just as prejudiced as my own, save they had always been Gryffindors but did not like gay people. Well, not many did, but since she came from a pureblood family, she would most likely be shunned at family gatherings. I mean, I got it.  
  
The her fancying girls thing, not the whole being gay thing. Well, I mean, I realized why she would fancy girls, but I myself can't ever picture myself as gay. If that makes sense.  
  
Mary understood me perfectly. Girls are so soft. Soft hair, soft skin, soft voices, soft everything. Mary and I formed a sort of club. The 'I Love Girls Club' I call it. She calls it confession. I don't know what confession is, but apparently Lily does and she told Mary. All we really do in this club is sit in the kitchens and talk about hot girls.  
  
We usually have a meeting once a month and the I Love Girls Club only has two members. Mary and I. I tell her things I don't normally tell the marauders, like how I felt bad after letting a girl go after dating her for a week.  
  
Or how I felt after breaking a girl's heart for the second time (which has happened a total of seven times) or the third (three times) or even the fourth (only once – it was a Hufflepuff girl a year older).  
  
Mary, in turn, told me how she had felt when a girl had looked at her in the corridor with something more than friendship, or how she had felt when a third year Ravenclaw had asked her why she looked at girls differently than boys, or when a seventh year Hufflepuff had asked her out and she had to say no because she truly did not fancy him and would have felt bad to have led him on.  
  
Of course, this was all over some pie or cookies or hot chocolate, usually all three. Mary seemed to be able to eat and eat and eat without gaining a pound, something we both shared. Yes, Mary and I were quite fond of each other in a not so normal sense. No one knew of course, so as I walked back over to my best mates, James and Remus wiggled their eyebrows at me.  
  
"Oh shut it you tossers!" I hissed but James just winked.  
  
"Ooh, getting something tonight, Padfoot?"  
  
Remus rolled his eyes. "You two toss pots are such perverts. Can't you go to a party without getting wasted, shagging someone," – at this he looked pointedly at me – "or taking off your clothes?" This time he looked at James.  
  
James shrugged. "When I drink a little too much alcohol, the clothes just restrict the real me. Plus," he said, his eyes twinkling, "this way Lily gets to see my awesome bod and realise what she's missing out on."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "I've seen your 'awesome bod' Prongs and she isn't missing much."  
  
James looked at me and pouted. "Really?"  
  
"Nah you tosser. She is totally missing out on all that raw manliness."  
  
James grinned and nodded, sauntering off as he glimpsed Lily walking past. Remus rolled his eyes as we heard 'Lily Pad!' followed by the sound of Lily's hand striking him across the face. He really needed to lay off her.  
  
I had a feeling she didn't really hate him. Just intensely disliked his bullying nature and the fact that he couldn't stop asking her out in menial ways. First off, he either used a disgustingly sweet nickname, or her last name. The numpty didn't realise she was fairly nice to those who called her by her given name.  
  
Then again, it was James, and who said he was particularly observant when it came to Lily's likes and dislikes? All he really cared about was what she looked like. Yes, my best friend is a shallow bastard, but aren't we all? Anyways, I walked over to Carlos Jordan and winked at him.  
  
"You ready with the music there, Jordan?"  
  
He smiled cheekily. "Oh yeah. DJ CJ is in the house."  
  
My impish smile fell and I shook my head. "No Jordan. Just no. Don't go there."  
  
He shrugged. "You guys put me in charge of music, I'm going to be in charge of music."  
  
I rolled my eyes and walked over to one of the plush couches, waiting for the party to start. I'd probably sit here nursing the drink until the party went full swing, then I would dance and drink. Nothing was worse than a pre-party partier.  
  
The lights danced over the bodies dancing in the middle of the common room. It was magical. Colours flashed, making the harsh makeup so many of the girls wore on a regular basis actually seem presentable. Eyes flashed different colours as boys danced alongside girls.  
  
Carlos had pulled through somehow and the music was loud, pounding over and over again, the beats reverberating in my heart. Now _this_ was a party. I quickly weaved through the crowd, finally stopping to move alongside Lily as she danced, her long red hair catching the purple and green lights, illuminating it.  
  
"Hey Lils," I yelled over the music.  
  
"HEY!" She shrieked back.  
  
"Gotten into the drinks I see."  
  
"Diggory HANDED me a drink a little WHILE ago. I never really trusted THAT guy."  
  
I laughed throatily. "Neither have I."  
  
"SO are you dancing, Black?"  
  
"Volume Lily. Control yours."  
  
"OH yeah, I should PROBABLY start doing that."  
  
"And yes, I am dancing Lily, how nice of you to notice."  
  
Lily nodded and began dancing closer. I tried to back away, but soon her chest was pressed to mine and we were swaying to the music. Her mouth was near my ear as she stood on her toes.  
  
"Do tell me there's a Spin the Bottle game going on right now," she whispered. "Because I need to get something out of my mind.  
  
I smirked. "The infamous Evans wants to lock lips with a random? Scandalous!"  
  
"Oh shut it! I'm smart enough to feign drunkenness to get you to tell me where these activities are taking place."  
  
"Oh, but Lils, I haven't told you yet."  
  
She smirked, her left eyebrow raised, the effect sobering up her face, her devilish grin so much like the patented marauder smirk it was scary. "Oh, but as soon as I began dancing close to you, Black, you looked over at the boys' staircase. Obviously you were looking for a sign that Potter was coming back, or for that matter, _not_ coming back, as you didn't want to get in a row. And as you well know, Potter is always at the heart of these 'scandalous' games."  
  
I shrugged. "You caught me. Or, you caught him. But damn Lily, you should be in Ravenclaw. Figuring things out and pretending to be drunk and all."  
  
She laughed merrily. "Yes, well. I believe I may have been put into Gryffindor for my amazing courage. Did you know I'm the only girl in my dorm to actually kill spiders?"  
  
"No way," I laughed.  
  
"So way. Mary is completely terrified of them as are the rest of them. God forbid they find one at night."  
  
"God?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Muggle stuff. So, what dorm?"  
  
"Fifth years' dormitory. We don't want any nasty stuff going down in ours, you know?"  
  
She rolled her eyes again but her smirk was still there. She thanked me and made her way up to the fifth years' dorm. I smirked as another girl came and danced against me but quickly forgot about her as I saw a girl with dark hair dancing along next to her friend. While her friend seemed familiar, she didn't. I smiled. Target acquired. She danced jumpily, telling me she either didn't know how, didn't like the attention of extremely sexual dancing, or that she was smashed. Hopefully the latter.  
  
Sirius Black had come to this party with his claws out and, hopefully, a poor little mouse would scamper into them. I plastered a charming grin on my face and made my way through the crowd, narrowly missing a stream of vomit coming from a slight Gryffindor fourth year.  
  
I rolled my eyes as I caught Diggory behind her, holding her hair back as well as a small red cup I assumed was the poor girl's drink. That numpty was truly a horrible guy. Even I have enough decency not to go after fourth years. I got around the crowd and found the dark-haired girl just as her friend pressed her lips to her cheek. Someone in the crowd wolf-whistled and I got a little closer.  
  
"Okay, who got the Ravenclaw girls drunk?" I asked as I recognized the girl's friend. Merlin, Melvin, Mead… Some Ravenclaw girl. "Because I would like to thank them."  
  
The girl in front of me batted her eyes then started yelling. "Well, if I got myself drunk, so how are you going to thank me? Oops," she said lowering her voice, "I didn't mean to be so loud."  
  
I smiled and leaned in a little closer. "Loud? I can barely hear you babe."  
  
Something flashed across the girl's face but she quickly turned to her friend. Whispering something to her friend, the girl finally turned to me and grabbed my hand. Pulling me out of the crowds, she led me to a dark corner. As I looked back at the party, I saw Remus giving me a dirty look. He never did seem to like my excursions with girls. The prude.  
  
As I looked back, I saw the wavy curls of the girl bounce ever so slightly with each step. As she turned back towards me, she continued to back up. How this Ravenclaw girl knew about this small, dark corridor when she had probably never been here confused me, but I let my thoughts go as she suddenly halted and pulled me closer by my shirt.  
  
"Hello," she said breathlessly. "How many people have you kissed?"  
  
Somehow she had gotten even closer and I felt the hot air from her breath against my lips. She smelled minty and a bit like the spiked butter beer I knew was going around. But her question made me jolt ever so slightly.  
  
"Um, what kind of question is that?"  
  
Her eyes glinted in the small amount of light and she pressed herself closer to me. Her lips were fluttering at my earlobe, her breath silent under the loud music.  
  
"Well, I don't want some sort of mouth disease now do I? Because I do plan to kiss you mystery man."  
  
Her breath tickled my ear and I shivered. "Well, I could ask the same question, mystery woman."  
  
She giggled. "I'm not a woman. I'm a girl."  
  
"A girl? Well then, how old are you Ravenclaw? And how old do you think I am?"  
  
"Well, seeing as I don't recognize you and you don't seem younger than me, perhaps you're a seventh year. But you could be a really old-looking fifth year. And I'm a sixth year by the way.  
  
Definitely a Ravenclaw, I thought. The rambling is just too logical for a regular drunk girl.  
  
"Well Ravenclaw, I am a sixth year like you, unfortunately. Apparently we don't quite remember each other."  
  
"I must be really drunk, right?" She frowned, but somehow still managed to stay incredibly close to me.  
  
Smiling, I looked over at her face, trying to recognize her. "I think you are. I guess that means I should not be doing this."  
  
Suddenly, she grabbed my face and brought it to hers. My eyes widened slightly as our eyelashes touched, our noses pressed together.  
  
"I think we should. And if I'm drunk, then why am I not slurring?"  
  
She leaned in closer and I could almost feel the pressure of her lips on mine when I heard something in the corridor. First it was just two pairs of footsteps, but soon it was a voice.  
  
"Okay babe. You sure no one's down here?"  
  
I ignored it and leaned a little closer to the girl to meet her lips but she flinched and I hit her cheek. I stiffened as did she and I looked at her curiously. As I heard the footstep impossibly close, someone bumped into me.  
  
"Oh, sorry mate. Babe, I think this corridor's taken."  
  
Shit, I thought. Diggory. That arse tried everything to ruin my fun. But as I looked back at the girl, I saw sadness in her green eyes. She started, pushing me against the wall beside me, trying to get out.  
  
She wasn't getting anywhere fast as the corridor was particularly thin and she had to press herself against me to get past, and though I wasn't complaining, her elbow did connect with my stomach at one point. As soon as she had gotten past me (after ramming into the wall, her body, and of all people _Diggory_ ), she stopped. She seemed caught by Diggory's gaze, but as she spoke, I knew it was to me.  
  
"Sorry mystery boy, but I have to go."  
  
I hardly heard her as she whispered, but she quickly pushed past Diggory and the fourth year he had been forcing drinks upon. Diggory looked at her as she raced away and then back at me.  
  
"You pansy," he said menacingly. "You can't even get a girl to snog you without running away crying."  
  
I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as he left, leaving me with the Hufflepuff girl. She looked at me, silently asking where Diggory was going. I shook my head to tell her that he wasn't going to come back and she started to cry. I silently cursed myself. I hated crying girls. I took her hand and led her out to the party where a frazzled looking brunette ran at us.  
  
"Melissa!" She shrieked. "Where were you? I was looking all over for you! Don't go running off with sixth years at parties you daft girl!" She cried, giving me a dirty look.  
  
"Um, excuse me," I said warily. "Diggory has been handing her drinks all night and I don't think she's well enough to get back to your common room. She seems a bit shaken up over something though, so could you bring her back to your dorm, please?"  
  
The girl looked at me in disbelief but nodded, taking Melissa by the arm and walking away. I hoped they would get out without Melissa creating a scene with her apparent projectile vomit. Now _that_ was attractive. As I looked away, I saw Lily running down from the boys' staircase, pulling on a jumper I recognized as James's, and holding trousers that were identical to those James had put on earlier. As she ran past, I grabbed her arm, swinging her around and causing her to fall against me.  
  
"Hello, Evans," I said politely. "Mind telling me why you have James's jumper and trousers?"  
  
She blushed scarlet and stammered something about Truth or Dare. I quickly widened my eyes and shushed her.  
  
"Did James undress?" I asked.  
  
She nodded and I swore.  
  
"He still has himself covered. He just took off his shirt, trousers and shoes," she said nervously.  
  
"You mean to tell me that my best friend is running around the castle in nothing but his socks and his boxers?"  
  
She blushed scarlet again. "Well, on an earlier dare, he was told to put on a pair of lacy knickers."  
  
I put my face in my hands. "My best friend is running around the castle in lacy knickers and socks. Please tell me they weren't your knickers."  
  
Lily scoffed. "Of course not. Kendra's on the other hand…"  
  
I took my hands off of my face and rolled my eyes. "Of course. But that still doesn't explain why you're wearing his jumper."  
  
Lily's face went red again, if that was possible, and she looked at the ground. "Well, I got cold…"  
  
"And he raced upstairs to grab you a jumper," I finished for her. She nodded and I grimaced. "Just be careful. That's his favorite jumper. His grandmum knitted it for him last Christmas."  
  
"Aren't you going to help me find him?" She asked.  
  
I scoffed. "No way. He's gone about in less clothing before. It definitely won't be the last time. I think I'll leave the saving of poor damsel in distress Potter to you." Lily scowled and I shrugged my shoulders. "Best be going Evans. I'm told McGonagall's patrolling tonight."  
  
Lily nodded and left, a harried goodbye thrown over her shoulder for me. I sighed and looked around for Remus or Peter. Peter was supposed to have played a prank on the Slytherins and James was supposed to have helped him, but obviously someone lost track of his duties, and subsequently, his trousers.  
  
Seeing neither of my friends, I sighed and went to sit on one of the couches. Letting my head fall back, I listened to the pounding of the music until someone started shaking me. I snapped my eyes open to see Peter.  
  
"Wormtail, mate. What's shaking my little mousy friend?"  
  
His terrified expression sobered me up and I jumped up as he began talking.  
  
"The prank, well, it didn't go so well."  
  
"What?" I hissed.  
  
"Well, I tried to enchant a bucket of slime to hit some of the Slytherins when they tried to get into their Common Room, and then a whole bunch of feathers would hit them, and then I would cast a fast drying charm on them, effectively making them into chickens, right? Well, thing is, I got some of the girls and their boyfriends are livid and they might be coming up to the Gryffindor Common Room as we speak."  
  
I hushed him, thinking. "How do they know where the Gryffindor Common Room is?" I asked.  
  
Peter sighed. "Oh, they don't. But they sort of followed me up until the fifth floor. They're canvasing the area as we speak, trying to find it."  
  
I swore loudly, making many people look over at me. Grabbing Peter by the sleeve of his shirt, I pulled him out of the Common Room. Hearing nothing, I turned to him, letting go of his sleeve.  
  
"So where are they right now?" I asked.  
  
Peter took out the map and unfolded it. Glancing through, he suddenly pointed at a small bunch of footprints on the floor directly below us. I swore again and raced off in the direction of some stairs, Peter lagging behind me. Running down the steps, I heard voices getting closer and closer and quickly pulled out my wand as I touched down on the unmoving ground of stable floor.  
  
Peter slipped on the last one and fell onto me, knocking us both to the ground and making a racket. Immediately, I heard running and tried to get to my wand but almost as soon as I had gotten my fingers on it, it was ripped from my grasp. I looked up and saw Avery along with Snape, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and none other than Regulus. Avery had his wand outstretched and was sneering at me.  
  
"Well look what we have here. A blood traitor and a squeaky little dough ball of a Gryffindor. Seems like our lucky day boys," he sneered.  
  
Peter tried to get his wand from his trouser pockets but I discreetly stopped him. He gave me a look from under my arm and I quickly shook my head. As Avery stalked closer, Crabbe and Goyle came with him and grabbed us, hauling Peter and I to our feet. I scowled and shrugged Crabbe's beefy hands off of me.  
  
Brushing the shoulders of my shirt and straightening it, I held my nose in the air and stared down at Regulus. "Don't touch me, you incompetent dickhead. I don't want my shirt to get fucked up. Silk, you know."  
  
Reg rolled his eyes. I had deliberately used his own words from a small party that my parents had thrown during the summer.  
  
His then girlfriend (don't ask how he got one, I'm still in shock he's attracted to girls) had come onto him a little too strong after some very compromising shots of firewhisky managed to worm their way into her system (courtesy of one of the only decent Blacks), and he immediately tried to get out of her grasp (maybe not so attracted to girls then).  
  
Of course, he had used the word slag instead of dickhead, but minor details. Avery crept closer and I flinched as he threw his face up to mine.  
  
"Scared, Black?" He asked in his nasally voice.  
  
"Not really, but your breath smells like a hippogriff's arse."  
  
Peter squeaked with laughter but Goyle quickly punched him in the stomach. I tsked at him and waggled my finger.  
  
"Use your words Goyle. Not your fists," I chastised him and Crabbe grabbed my hand, pulling my arms behind my back, straining my shoulders.  
  
Avery pulled away, scrunching his nose at me. "Crabbe, Goyle, where should we put these Gryffindor scumbags?"  
  
The two blubbering, idiotic gorillas looked at each other and then back at Avery. The ringleader rolled his eyes.  
  
"Incompetents. Snape, Nott, Black –"  
  
"Yes?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes.  
  
Avery scowled at me and Crabbe pinned my arms further back, making me wince. Avery turned to his cronies and they began to mutter to each other. I waited, cocking my hip and pretending to throw my hair back as I glanced at Crabbe.  
  
"Crabbe, babe. Mind loosening the grip back there?" I asked coyly, my voice in a high falsetto.  
  
He responded by pulling my arms back further and rolling his eyes. Finally, Avery, Snape, Nott and Black turned back to us, harshness glinting in their eyes. But almost as soon as Avery opened his foul mouth, clacking footstep could be heard from down the corridor. All of us turned to find the source of the noise and immediately looked back at each other. Avery and I looked at each other, fear in our eyes.  
  
"McGonagall," we both whispered.  
  
Then we all rocketed down the corridor, Crabbe and Goyle releasing Peter and I, all of us trying to get away from Professor McGonagall. As we ran, I pulled ahead and raced up a staircase that I knew would lead me to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
But just as I was about to turn in that direction, I remembered the Slytherins behind me and quickly turned the other way. As I turned corners and zigzagged around, careful to avoid the portrait of the Fat Lady, I felt something catch my leg and I fell face first. Looking back, I saw Avery stretched out on the ground behind me, one hand on my ankle. He scowled at me.  
  
"You're not getting away that easy, Black! My girlfriend won't be able to get those feathers off for a week. You think I like having a chicken as a girlfriend?"  
  
I almost laughed, but by this time Goyle had grabbed Peter again and Crabbe was reaching down, trying to grab my shirt collar. They pulled me up and I sighed. At least my arms weren't behind me. As I was about to ask why they weren't restraining me, I tried to brush a stray lock of my (gorgeous) black hair out of my (sinfully exotic) grey eyes, but my hands stayed together.  
  
I cursed as I realized they must have charmed my hands to stick to each other. Avery smiled and nodded, realizing my realisation of my reality. Huh, that could be a poem. Anyways! Avery turned to Reg, who was staring at a door just a few steps away from him.  
  
"What is it Regulus?" Avery asked.  
  
"I don't know," my brother said stiffly. "It sounds like someone's having a good fuck, but I can't be sure."  
  
His _posh_ demeanor and cordial voice was harshly set off by the term fuck. I snorted a little and he looked over at me, disgust plainly written all over his face. I was half-expecting Avery to do the same thing, but he strode over to the door and opened it, revealing a girl and a boy in a cupboard. I instantly recognized Diggory and, with a jolt, the girl I had been with in that dark corridor in the Gryffindor common room. Avery smirked, his lips curling over his teeth.  
  
"Ooh, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw in a broom cupboard. If that's not a scandal I don't know what is."  
  
The girl turned away from him – not surprising considering the state of his ugliness – but Diggory grabbed her hands.  
  
"Excuse me boys," Diggory said, smiling ' _charmingly_ ,' "but could you please let us out. I don't think we'll be continuing if you keep staring at us."  
  
The girl snorted and I very nearly laughed as Avery flinched. He and the rest of the Slytherins got out of the way as Diggory and the girl scrambled out. As she passed me though, she did a double take.  
  
"Mystery man! I thought you were Gryffindor but now you're hanging out with Slytherins," she shrieked. "You, m'friend, are a liar."  
  
Diggory gave me a harsh look and ushered her away as the Slytherins looked at each other and then at me. I shrugged as best I could. Reg rolled his eyes and began talking, bringing their attention to him and off Peter and I.  
  
"Wormtail," I hissed and he looked over, fright in his eyes. "Wormtail, get over here."  
  
He slowly moved over towards me. Soon, he was close enough to touch. Perfect. I quickly slid my hand into his… Pocket! Seriously, guys? Just his pocket. Anyways! I took out his wand as silently as I possibly could and quickly severed the charm they had put on Peter and let him do the same for me. Soon, we were both free and slowly inching our way to a corner. As Peter raced around it, I stopped him and took his wand, muttering.  
  
"Accio Sirius Black's awesome wand."  
  
My wand came flying from one of Avery's pockets and I caught it. As the Slytherins turned to look at us, Peter and I sent a flurry of stunners in their direction. Once all of them were lying on the ground, we ran away, giggling like girls as we did. Once we had finally gotten to the portrait hole, Peter looked at me.  
  
"Mystery man?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "I almost hooked up with her. But she ran off before I got the chance to snog her."  
  
His face shone with glee. "Sirius Black was _rejected_?!"  
  
"Shh! Don't say anything. James will have a field day. If anyone asks, I found a better shag and you were the one who got caught and found them."  
  
Peter shook his head. "I don't get why you care. One girl rejected you. There will be more."  
  
I ground my teeth as we started up the boys' staircase. "Hopefully not."  
  
Just as we were about to enter our dormitory, the door was flung open and Lily raced out with red-rimmed eyes and James' jumper still on.  
  
"Whoa there Evans!" I said, stopping her. "Where's the fire? What did he do now?"  
  
She looked at me distractedly. "Um, James and Kendra. I guess. Feelings. Like him? But he did that."  
  
With that she raced off leaving Peter and I speechless. He looked at me and I shrugged, turning back to our dormitory. Poor James. He never could get a break. I got changed into my boxers and snuggled into my four-poster, enjoying the coolness of my pillow.  
  
Letting my hair tickle the back of my neck, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, the image of Diggory and that mystery girl branded into my skull. I would get her. No one blew off the great Sirius Black and got away with it.


	10. Healers, I've Never and Lockdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First, I got my head bashed in. Then, Sirius Black, idiot that he is, visited me in the Hospital Wing... IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Now, I'm in St. Mungo's. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

I lay in the St. Mungo's bed, my eyes closed and my body heavy. They had to give me anesthesia for the procedure they did. I still didn't know what exactly they did to me, but I knew why. A small chunk of my skull had lodged itself into my brain. Thankfully, it hadn't affected me yet, but Madame Pomfrey hadn't felt confident enough in her abilities to dislodge it and replace it. Her daughter, Poppy, had assured me that the healers at St. Mungo's had dealt with much worse and had performed miracles.  
  
Now, hours after my procedure, I lay in the cool bed, trying to subdue the pounding headache that was the after-effect of so many numbing potions. A hand was slowly rubbing the back of my own but I feigned unconsciousness. No way was I going to talk with this headache. But after a few minutes, I opened my eyes to see who it was. As soon as I saw the long dark hair and light green eyes, I closed my eyes again. Squeezing them shut, I opened them once more, but the young witch holding my hand was still there.  
  
"Hey, sleepyhead," she said in a hushed voice. "How are you?"  
  
I snatched my hand away, cradling it to my chest. "How did you know I was here?"  
  
Her hesitant smile dropped, but she quickly plastered it back on. "You're my baby sister, 'Dria. Professor Dumbledore contacted me as soon as they decided to send you."  
  
"He should've known better," I scowled.  
  
"Well, Professor Dumbledore isn't some angsty teenage girl with a vendetta against the sister that saved her life. He knows what's best for you."  
  
I flinched. That was harsh. Usually Cami wasn't so bitchy, but then again, I hadn't gone to see her for a few months.  
  
"So Aunt Maggie told me you didn't go to Dad's memorial," she said, playing with a small string bracelet around her right wrist.  
  
"Neither did you."  
  
"But I had an excuse 'Dria."  
  
"Yeah. You were locked up in here, raving mad, weren't you?"  
  
She flinched and I realized that I was being the harsh one now. She looked down at the bracelet she was playing with as I looked away, playing with my own fingers as I waited for her to say something.  
  
"I heard that you got your own apartment. You didn't tell me that last time you were here."  
  
"I didn't think it was important," I said, keeping my head down.  
  
"Well, do you have an extra room?"  
  
I looked up in shock. "Why?"  
  
She smiled at me, stopping her antics with the bracelet, grabbing the hand I had initially pulled away. "My healers say I've been doing a lot better. They're willing to let me be discharged as long as I promise to check in every week."  
  
"Discharged? When?"  
  
"Today! But I don't really have a house or an apartment to go to, and I am _not_ going back to Aunt Maggie's!"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Well, why don't you find an apartment or a house on your own?"  
  
"Well, I'm still unemployed. And it might be a while until I'm able to find a job."  
  
"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you might need a roommate."  
  
I stared at her, my face completely slack in shock. "I'm sorry?"  
  
"I want to move in with you. You're my sister after all. I'd like to live near you, if not with you."  
  
"Um, no. You can't. I have a roommate of sorts."  
  
She looked at me in shock. "You have a flat share? With who?"  
  
"A girl named Rosmerta. Or, Rosie."  
  
"Rosmerta? The barmaid from the Three Broomsticks?"  
  
I nodded. "Yeah. Rosmerta. But she prefers to be called Rosie."  
  
Cami nodded. "I know. She was barmaid when I was in sixth year. Freaking slag."  
  
Just then, footstep echoed through the room and a voice quickly followed.  
  
"Freaking slag? You talking about me, James?"  
  
I let my eyes close and took my hand from Cami's to cover my face. Groaning, I heard Cami stand at the arrival of the new person. But I knew who it was. Cocky, loud and a total arsehat. Namely…  
  
"Hello, Sirius Black. And who might you be?"  
  
"Oh," Cami giggled. "I'm Camilla. Camilla James. Are you one of 'Dria's friends?"  
  
Fuck.  
  
"'Dria? You mean Lexi?"  
  
I opened my eyes and took my hands of my face. "Hello Black. I see you've met my sister. Cami, I see you've met the pain in my arse. Now, could one of you leave? I don't want to deal with both of you right now."  
  
"Ooh! Pain in her arse. I see you've had some sort of encounter with my sister already," Cami said. "I remember you Mister Black. You are quite the prankster. I can only assume that you've done something to her."  
  
"Well, elder James, I have done nothing to your sister," he said, smiling a charming smile.  
  
"Yet," I hissed and they both looked at me. "Oh don't mind me. Just the girl who just had intense procedures to remove the piece of skull lodged into my brain."  
  
Black looked at me, concern on his face, but Cami just kept on talking, not even turning to look at me.  
  
"Oh shut it you pansy. I talked to your healers. It wasn't even close to a high-risk procedure and it went exceptionally well. You're being discharged in three days and you won't need any rest after that. Anyways, why are you here Mister Black?"  
  
"Well, I sort of landed your sister in the Hospital Wing, and I guess here."  
  
Cami shook her head, tsking. "And you said he hadn't done anything to you," she said to me.  
  
"Well he didn't! Technically." I glared at Black as he shrugged.  
  
"Well, we were playing quidditch. There can be complications," he said, grinning.  
  
Shit.  
  
"I should've known," Cami said, finally turning towards me. "I've told you countless times that quidditch is a dangerous sport. You shouldn't be playing it. You could die during a quidditch match! It's happened!"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, and taking a knife to your wrists won't," I said in a quiet voice.  
  
Cami's eyes widened and her nostrils flared as Black looked at me incredulously. I shrugged. Cami came closer and I stared at her, my own eyes blazing.  
  
"Don't you ever mention that again," she hissed dangerously.  
  
I stared at her as she left, leaving me alone with Black. He looked at me but I turned away. He walked closer and sat down in the chair Cami had vacated.  
  
"So that's your sister, huh?"  
  
I looked at him and shrugged. "You know better than anyone that you can't choose your family."  
  
He nodded and looked down. I looked away, fiddling with the edge of the sheets that had been draped over my legs and half of my chest. Finally, I grew tired of staring at the wall opposite me. I sat up a little more and tried to adjust the pillows behind me – with less than admirable results. At the sound of my restlessness, Black looked up. As my adjustments of the pillows did not go well, I ended up leaning sideways, staring angrily at Black.  
  
"Shit," I said.  
  
"What the bloody hell were you trying to do?" He asked.  
  
"I'm tired. I wanted to lie down."  
  
"Well, I'm afraid I can't let you do that." A healer walked into my room. "The potions we gave you kept you unconscious during our procedure, but we are going to need you to stay awake as we monitor your recovery. Don't worry though, he said at my stricken expression, "it will only be for 16 hours."  
  
"16 hours? What the hell am I supposed to do for 16 hours?"  
  
The healer looked at me. "I don't know, but nothing strenuous. So if your boyfriend could keep his hands to himself for the next few days, keeping your heart rate down, I believe that would be best."  
  
"He's not my –"  
  
"Will do!" Black interrupted me.  
  
The healer nodded and walked out.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend!" I yelled after him. "He's not my… Oh whatever."  
  
Black grinned at me as I glared at him. Crossing my arms, I turned away and scowled.  
  
"Oh, come on. That was bloody funny," Black said, giggling like a little girl.  
  
"It was not! You're not my boyfriend. You're not even my friend! Now that healer thinks I'm some sort of… Of –"  
  
"Of slag? Well, hun, if you're my girlfriend, you sort of have to be."  
  
I glared at him. "I'm _not_ your girlfriend. I'm not even –"  
  
"My friend. I got it, I got it. It was just a harmless prank, you tosser. Don't be so uptight."  
  
"Get out," I said, looking at the wall across from me.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's right. Get out. Now. I didn't ask for you to be here, so if you don't leave, I'll scream and alert the healers, then I'll get them to force you out of here. So just leave, Black."  
  
He got up. "Fine, I'll leave. See you at school then, 'Dria."  
  
I finally turned back to him and he smiled. "Don't call me that!"  
  
"Why not? Your sister calls you that."  
  
"Yeah, but I call my sister Cami when she'd flay anyone else who dared calling her that. So, you are not allowed to call me that. Cami is, but, thankfully, you are not my sister."  
  
Black nodded. "Fine. See you at school, Ace."  
  
"Seriously? How do you get from 'Dria to Ace?"  
  
"Oh, simple. It pisses you off."  
  
"But how do you get from 'Dria to Ace?"  
  
He smiled. "Maybe I'll tell you later."  
  
"No, tell me _now_! You put me in the hospital! You owe me that much."  
  
"Nope," he said, turning and walking away. "Maybe later."  
  
I rolled my eyes. The tosser had the nerve to visit me after my procedure and then decided to give me a nickname, without clarifying why he gave me that particular nickname. The Ravenclaw in me screamed with frustration. Nicknames always had to have a meaning behind them. I mean, there were no random nicknames, were there? And even if this one was random, meant to piss me off, the symbolism of the name seemed a little too familiar.  
  
When I was younger, Cami had always played cards with me, and one day, we were playing a game, and I had gotten all four aces. I had won the game, though I forget which one it was, but it was the first game I had ever won. I was so ecstatic, Cami had let me keep the aces, telling me that I was going to be a Ravenclaw, like her, because I was so smart. Of course, when I was younger, the only thing that mattered was to be in Ravenclaw, to be like Camilla. I still have the aces, in a hidden compartment in my trunk.  
  
His knowing about Diggory and now about my aces. Did this boy know everything about me? I sighed and heard footsteps in the room. Looking over, I saw three Healers walk in with someone on a gurney. They seemed very preoccupied with the patient, although it didn't seem as if any of their spells or their potions were working.  
  
"Find out what his name is while I go get Healer Terrence!" One of them cried as they ran out of the room.  
  
I had now completely turned towards the commotion until one of the Healers pulled the curtain between my bed and the new patient's, leaving me to stare at the blue plastic. I grumbled but lay back normally nonetheless. As I stared at the ceiling, I heard the frantic calls of Healers directing others to fetch a draft of this-potion or that-potion.  
  
One of them said something about a bee-ze-roar. Soon though, they had all left, insisting they needed to go get something that would help the patient. As I was about to count the ceiling tiles, the blue curtain whipped open and none other than Sirius Black stood to the left of me.  
  
"Hello, Ace. How're you doing?"  
  
I inwardly groaned, and outwardly cursed. "What the hell are you doing here, Black?"  
  
"I got bored."  
  
"You got bored in the span of three minutes."  
  
He pouted and looked at me with what I could only assume was his attempt at a puppy-dog face. I rolled my eyes and he grinned dopily.  
  
"Jamesie says I'm a five year old," he said proudly in a small child's voice.  
  
"Yeah? Well _Jamesie_ is right. Now, would you care to tell me what just happened?"  
  
"Oh, I will," he said mischievously, "but only if you come with me."  
  
With that he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bed. My sheets billowed out from behind me and I was mortified to see that I was clad in only a hospital gown, the back of which was open. Well, I thought grimly, at least I'm facing him. And, it seemed like someone – my money's on Camilla – had put on my knickers and my bra, so I wasn't completely naked under the gown.  
  
"Are you kidding me?" I hissed dangerously "I'm in a hospital gown, I've just gone through a major procedure, thanks to you I might add, and I'm not supposed to even get up. Now you want me to go gallivanting through St. Mungo's with you?"  
  
He nodded his head, his smile growing by the second. I sighed and pushed my hair behind my ears.  
  
"Alright. But first I need some actual clothes," I said, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"Wow. That was surprisingly easy," he said, his grin falling.  
  
I grimaced. "Well, I thought I would get bored counting the ceiling tiles, and Merlin forbid Cami actually came back and wanted to talk. Now, clothing wise, what's our situation?"  
  
Black's grin came back, happier than ever, as he pulled the tiniest pair of trousers I had ever seen out of his back pocket. Reaching for his wand – in the other pocket – he quickly enlarged them and handed them to me. I grabbed them and stared at them.  
  
"These are huge! Could you shrink them a little?"  
  
He sighed, giving me an exasperated look but did what I asked. I put them on and they fit well, but they were still a little baggy. When I asked for a shirt though, he gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged.  
  
"You came prepared with trousers the size of an elephant but not a shirt?" I asked, glaring at him.  
  
"Well, the trouser situation was just because I _engorgio_ 'd them a little bit too much. But I may have forgotten about the shirt?"  
  
I threw my hands up in the air and winced as my head started to hurt. He immediately came closer and grabbed my hands while in the air, keeping them above my head. Before I realized it had been with one hand, he slid a hand over the bandages covering my head, a concerned expression over his face. I felt blood rush to my cheeks and I looked down, not wanting him to see.  
  
It wasn't that I fancied Sirius Black or something – because I _didn't_ – but it hadn't been since Amo – Diggory! – that a boy had been this close to me. The hand that was fluttering near my bandages quickly swooped down to cup my chin and bring my head up again. His face was so close I could count the microscopic freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose and my breath hitched. He seemed to be leaning closer to me.  
  
"So the shirt fiasco, how are we going to do that?" I said, interrupting the (blech) moment.  
  
He stared at me, a silent question in his eyes before stepping back. His hand let mine drop and his other left my chin. He smiled sheepishly then began to take off his jumper. Handing it to me, he passed a hand through his hair, mussing it, a habit I had noticed that He and Potter shared. I thanked him, holding the jumper closer but not putting it on.  
  
"You do know I took that off for you, right? Put it on already!" Black whined, crossing his muscular arms.  
  
Damn! Just his arms. Only his arms. Yeah, I mean, there's muscle on there, but he crossed his arms. I didn't notice the muscles. At all. Well, maybe a bit. Nope! Not at all. My cheeks coloured.  
  
"Turn around. I don't want to let you see me change," I said quietly.  
  
He rolled his eyes but did so, letting me slide the gown down my arms and onto the floor, where it pooled into a small puddle of white. I slipped the jumper on over my bra – a blue lace one I had never worn because it itched, thank you very much Cami – and turned around, walking past Black as I made my way over to the door. He took two long strides to catch up with me before pulling me back just as I reached the doorway.  
  
"What?" I asked rather rudely.  
  
He glanced around the deserted hallway. "I need to make sure none of the Healers recognize either you or me."  
  
"That's right! You pretended to be sick! Why aren't they back yet?"  
  
He smirked. "The marauders work as a team, Ace."  
  
I rolled my eyes and he took my hand as he dashed down the hallway. Startled by his pace, I stumbled but quickly fell into line next to him as we rushed down the hallway. It was rather empty which surprised me.  
  
"James, Remus and Peter are up on the next floor, creating havoc," Black explained with an easy smile.  
  
"I should've known you had everything planned out. And why do you need me if the other three idiots are here?  
  
"Well, escapes are always fun, aren't they?"  
  
I sighed. "Not really. I'm disobeying my doctor. I could be putting my health in serious jeopardy right now, for what? Your amusement."  
  
"Please stop being a ruddy-duddy Ravenclaw for one day, will you? I'm trying to add excitement to your life."  
  
"I don't need excitement," I huffed, stopping.  
  
He hadn't expected the suddenness of my stop and had to backtrack to get back to me.  
  
"Oh come on, Ace. Let loose a little. Have some fun!"  
  
I looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of fun?"  
  
"Exploding-snap in a broom cupboard?"  
  
"A broom cupboard. With you?"  
  
"Fine. How about a game of Truth or Dare in an empty ward?"  
  
I gave him a look. "How can you play Truth or Dare with two people?"  
  
"Well, we wouldn't be playing with two people, would we?"  
  
"Oh yes, because that's how I want to spend my day. Playing Truth or Dare with four blithering numpties."  
  
"It won't be four, Ace."  
  
"How many people are here?" I asked him suspiciously.  
  
All together there were nine of us. Dumbledore had allowed Charlie to come and check up on me. While here, she told me, she had also gotten a checkup to monitor her health after the miscarriage. Carter had been allowed because he was the quidditch captain and needed to see my progress to make sure the team didn't have to train a new beater, and Kendra was here because 'we were so close.'  
  
In all actuality, I knew it was because she didn't want to spend any more time with Zoe or Sydney. Lily had come along because Kendra was going and because (apparently) Dumbledore needed a prefect around because Black insisted on going considering he was the one who landed me here. And, as the marauders are a package deal, Pettigrew, Potter and Lupin tagged along.  
  
Although I think Potter's motivation might be a little more oriented towards Lily and not Black. But now we were sitting in a circle, all nine of us. Pettigrew had found an unused hospital room (I'm guessing his rat-like powers helped him because there are no doors in this place that unlock unless they're being used, and there's a small hole in one of the walls) and Potter insisted we use it as Lily had almost given him a black eye when he suggested a broom closet.  
  
Of course, I was the weirdest looking one there in the oversized jeans and jumper Black had given me, and the head wraps, but Charlie was a runner-up. I guess she hadn't had enough warning because she had on pajama bottoms and a small tank top, paired with one of Carter's jumpers. I knew she had on a tank top because she had draped the jumper over her shoulders instead of actually putting it on. Apparently not the best idea because she was shivering.  
  
But, as Charlie is scatterbrained, she hadn't thought of actually putting the jumper on. Carter had noticed this as I saw him roll his eyes as he looked from her to me. He was a few down from me in the circle. I was sitting directly beside Charlie and Kendra. Charlie was to my right and beside her was Lupin.  
  
Of course, between looking bored, staring at Charlie, and making faces at me, Carter was staring daggers at the quiet Gryffindor boy. Lupin didn't seem to notice.  
  
Pettigrew was on Lupin's other side, beside him was Black, Potter next to Black and next to him was Carter. Lily was next to Carter, since she had seen the only other option was next to Potter and quickly pulled Carter down, much to his regret. Lily was the other person beside Kendra to create our little circle. We all had drinks in front of us in small plastic cups that Potter _swore_ were clean. Of course, the marauders had been able to sneak some firewhiskey in (don't ask me how), so they all had their glasses full of that, as well as Carter, but I thought that was just to seem like a manly man. Kendra had watered hers down with some butterbeer, but Charlie, Lily and I had opted for a non-alcoholic drink.  
  
Actually, Black had made sure I had water instead of firewhiskey or butterbeer. I hadn't responded too well to him _telling_ me I _had_ to have water. But I knew that's what I would have chosen. I just didn't want to be told what I had to do. Especially by him. But yes. Drinks. Why drinks you ask? Well, we were playing Truth or Dare, but then Black dared Potter to run around one of the corridors in only his boxers, and some of the Healers tried to stun him. He managed to get away, but Lily insisted that we stop fooling around. So now we were playing 'I've Never.'  
  
"It's simple!" Lily cried as Black tried to comprehend the muggle drinking game. "I say 'I've Never' and then something that I've never done. Whoever has done that has to take a drink. It's really simple."  
  
"Fine, fine. Just start the game, Evans," he growled. He seemed surly ever since I cursed at him for commanding me to drink water.  
  
"Fine then. I've never played quidditch," she said, looking around mischievously.  
  
I rolled my eyes. Charlie, Lupin, Pettigrew, Black, Potter, Carter and I all took a drink. I looked over at Kendra quizzically. I seemed to remember she had a particular fondness for quidditch.  
  
She seemed to read my thoughts as she winked. "'Save a broomstick, ride a quidditch player,' isn't that my motto?"  
  
Potter laughed. "I thought it was shag whatever walks by."  
  
Kendra glared at him, her dark eyes blazing. He smirked at her, but Carter quickly smacked him on the head. Ravenclaws stood together after all.  
  
"Oh Merlin!" Lily sighed. "This will take forever. Kendra, why don't you say something? You're next."  
  
"Fine. I've never fallen in love."  
  
Charlie, Lupin, Potter, Carter and I drank.  
  
Next was me: "I've never slept with someone."  
  
I raised my eyebrow at Kendra and she shrugged. Charlie, Lupin, Black, Potter and Kendra drank.  
  
Charlie: "I've never… hum… I've never spent the night in the library."  
  
I rolled my eyes but Lily and I drank.  
  
Lupin: "I've never eaten so much sugar I vomited all through the night.  
  
Charlie, Black, Potter and I drank.  
  
Pettigrew: "I've never had a girlfriend."  
  
Black, Potter, Carter and Lupin drank.  
  
Black: "I've never fancied a _man_ in the room." No one drank. "Oh come on! Meaver, you slept with Remus! You must've fancied him at one point!"  
  
"Yeah, well, you said man."  
  
I laughed. "Ooh, harsh Charlie!"  
  
The girls laughed as the boys started to pout a little.  
  
"Oh hush up, girls," Lily giggled. "Potter, it's your turn."  
  
"Fine," he grumbled. "I've never fancied a _boy_ in this room."  
  
At this, Charlie, Lily and Kendra drank from their glasses. I stayed still as the boys looked at me.  
  
"Trust me, you are all fit, I mean, you play quidditch, but I don't quite see you as _fit_ fit. Do you know what I mean?" I asked, but all of them looked at me, confusion written on their faces. "Whatever. Lily it's your bloody turn."  
  
"I've never fancied a girl in this room."  
  
All the boys drank from their glasses. Black's eyes never left mine as he put the cup up to his lips and tipped it. I looked away and saw Kendra look at him with hope in her eyes. Oh Merlin! Two undeniable flirts flirting with each other. The end is nigh!  
  
Then Kendra: "I've never had a relationship over three weeks."  
  
Charlie, Lupin, Carter, Lily and I drank. Potter looked at Lily, hurt in his eyes.  
  
"Derek Wood, fourth year. You threw him out of your dormitory when you found out so he went down to the common room to sleep. I found him when I came back from the library and brought blankets and pillows down for the both of us. We slept on the couch and when you were the one who found us the next morning, you swore never to throw him out again."  
  
"That lasted three weeks?"  
  
"It lasted three months, you insufferable numpty."  
  
Potter shrugged his shoulders and everyone turned to me expectantly.  
  
"Um, I've never snogged someone in this room."  
  
Charlie, Lupin, Black, Potter, Carter, Lily and Kendra drank. Pettigrew and I just looked at each other and I made a face at him.  
  
Charlie: "I've never cheated on someone."  
  
Black drank.  
  
Lupin: "I've never slept with someone on a bet."  
  
Unsurprisingly, Black and Kendra drank.  
  
Pettigrew: "I've never been drunk."  
  
I rolled my eyes and all of us drank but Pettigrew.  
  
Black: "I've never had my heart broken."  
  
Potter, Carter, Charlie, Remus and I drank.  
  
Potter: "I've never snogged someone in a broom closet."  
  
Carter, Kendra, Charlie, Black and I.  
  
Carter: "I've never been ashamed of one of my long-term relationships, now or then."  
  
Charlie and I.  
  
Lily got quiet then and her cheeks flushed red. "I've never slept with someone in this room."  
  
Charlie and Lupin drank, which was unsurprising, but two other people did. Kendra lifted her glass to her lips, all the while staring at Lily while Potter put his glass to his lips and drank too. Lily just nodded as she looked at the both of them. Kendra made to say something but Lily put up a hand to shush her.  
  
"Don't," she whispered. "Just don't, you fat slag."  
  
Kendra's nostrils flared. "I've never snogged James Potter!" She shrieked.  
  
Lily looked at her with disbelief written on her face. "You basically just admitted to shagging him!"  
  
"Oh. Right. Fine. I've never snogged, erm, Remus Lupin."  
  
Charlie drank with a grimace. Kendra turned and looked at me, seemingly pleading with me. I sighed.  
  
"I've never snogged James Potter," I said reluctantly.  
  
To everyone's astonishment, Lily took her glass and downed it. Of course, she had charmed them so it filled up again, but still. Lily Evans had _snogged_ James Potter? Kendra drank too, but _Lily_?  
  
Charlie, the knowledge-seeking Ravenclaw she is, pursued this matter further. "I've never snogged James Potter more than ten times!"  
  
Lily was the only one who drank. We all stared at her, either surprised, disgusted or confused. Her cheeks turned beet red.  
  
"If he won't tell me something I have to kiss him to get the answer," she muttered under her breath. "It's worked loads of times. How else would I know how to get to the kitchens" – at this Potter looked down sheepishly – "or that some of the professors don't even know about that one hidden passageway that leads directly to Honeydukes" – Black was giving him a murderous glare – "or that the marauders place bets every year and this year –"  
  
"HEY LOOK EVERYONE, EVANS IS KISSING ME!" Potter screamed right before lunging across the circle and placing his lips on hers.  
  
Lily shrieked and pulled away, but since Potter had placed his hands on her upper arms, they both fell over, Lily underneath the – mighty fit, but it's not as if I had checked him out, right? – obnoxious, Gryffindor quidditch captain. Of course, at this she began to shriek even more, resulting in a sharp pain in my temple. I put my hand up to my head and winced. Charlie immediately turned to me.  
  
"You ok?" She asked quietly.  
  
I nodded but immediately felt woozy. "I think their potions might be losing their effect," I said, laughing half-heartedly.  
  
She nodded, her face showing her concern. I gave her a small smile and she gave me one back, but I knew that both were a lie. As I looked around, I saw Lily trying to punch Potter in the face for 'falling on her even though he knew not to,' Pettigrew, Lupin, Carter and Kendra laughing at the two struggling on the floor as Lily tried to escape and Potter 'tried' to get off her. Black, however, was not. He was looking right at me.  
  
"I think the patient should get back to the ward," he said in a quiet voice that carried to the ears of those arguing.  
  
They all turned to look at me and I smiled sheepishly. Potter slowly got off of Lily (who didn't seem all that relieved to get him off) while the four laughing slowly became serious. Well, not Sirius as in Sirius Black, because he was getting up and walking over to me and they weren't. They were being serious. As in, not happy. Not joking. Yeah, that kind of serious. Because the Sirius kind was now giving me his hand. And I was taking it. He pulled me up and placed a hand on my back. I wiggled around a little until he let it drop but the absence didn't make me feel better.  
  
"Um, yeah. Nice seeing you all. Carter, I should be aces" – I heard Black snort at my word usage – "by next match; Charlie, Kendra, I should be back in the dormitories tomorrow at the latest; Lily, thanks for coming, sorry for… well, sorry; Potter, Pettigrew, Lupin, don't know why you are here; Black, if you ever hit me with a bludger in the face again I will castrate you."  
  
I saw Charlie crack a smile and Carter nodded. The others just looked at me. I turned to leave, but Black was right in front of me. I glared at him and he shrugged.  
  
"You have my trousers and jumper. Unless you want to strip right here, maybe I should accompany you back to your hospital room."  
  
I glowered but nodded as he turned around to face the door with me and placed his hand on the small of my back. I glared up at him, but he just stared ahead as he opened the door for me, smirking all the while. I wanted to slap him. As we walked through the corridors of St. Mungo's, we were silent. In fact, everything seemed too quiet. I knew Black had realized as well because a confused look passed over his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but a loud voice interrupted him.  
  
"EMERGENCY PROCEDURE LOCKDOWN, COMMENCE. PATIENT WARDS, LOCK IN 3-2-1. HEALERS, TO CRITICAL CASES. AURORS, FIRST FLOOR. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."  
  
The loud voice of who I could only assume to be a female healer, echoed through the corridors. Healers looked up, panicked, and then ran off. Black grabbed me by the sleeve of his jumper and pulled me into a room with an open door. It was occupied by one person in the far cot, so he slammed the door behind him, letting it shimmer with a charm placed on the door beforehand, to lock it. He ushered me towards the nearest cot, silently telling me to sit on the edge of it, near the headboard. I did so and he made me pull my knees towards my chest.  
  
As soon as I did so, he sat down right next to me and put his arms around me, holding me close. I began to protest but he put a hand over my mouth as I heard the sharp sound of heels against linoleum floors. Then, out of nowhere, a high-pitched cackle, and a woman's voice shrieking a curse I had never heard before, but had read about many a time.  
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"  
  
I looked at Black in alarm.  
  
"Death eaters."


	11. Annabelle, Snowmen and Air Ducts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'd think that having a surgical procedure performed on me would be the most exciting part of my day. But no. Now I'm reduced to hanging out with Sirius Black of all people, along with some tiny child who seems way too preoccupied with my hair. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

"Oh Merlin! There are _death eaters_ in St. Mungo's?" I hissed furiously. "This has got to be a joke. Death eaters wouldn't actually invade St. Mungo's! I mean, there are sick people here. They must realize that – mph!" I glared at the boy beside me as he put his hand over my mouth.  
  
Black glared back at me. "It isn't a joke. And if you don't want them to try and get in here, maybe you want to _shut up_?"  
  
I humphed through his hand and took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to do next. I licked his hand. He immediately drew it back and gave me a disgusted look.  
  
"Merlin, you are weird."  
  
"You had your hand over my mouth," I murmured. "I'm not the weird one. I was just trying to get your disgusting paw off of me."  
  
He smirked at me. "Watch it, James, or you'll see just how dog-like I can be."  
  
"Yeah, I know you imbecile," I said, rolling my eyes. "You basically saved my life as that flea-ridden mutt."  
  
"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. Huh, fancy that!" He squirmed around, seemingly trying to find a more comfortable position on the small cot, but all that ended up happening was him transferring me onto his lap. "More comfortable like this isn't it?" He whispered into my ear.  
  
I shivered as his breath fluttered on the back of my neck and I felt him laugh silently from underneath me. Something I was absolutely _not_ okay with, in passing. Very uncomfortable with the entire thing. Not thinking about how his skin was surprisingly soft and his muscles unsurprisingly defined.  
  
GAH! Not thinking about that! And he's breathing on me again, making me shiver.  
  
"Cold, James?" He whispered, making me shiver again.  
  
Blast him! " _No_! Now shut up, you insufferable arse! And why am I sitting on you, exactly?"  
  
"Erm, because we need to conserve body heat?"  
  
I groaned and moved off of him, shuffling over to the other end of the cot. "Merlin, you are such a horny teenage numpty, it sickens me."  
  
"You were the one who licked me!"  
  
"And you're the one who insisted on visiting me in the hospital! I didn't initiate this."  
  
"I thought it was nice of me to check up on the girl I severely injured!"  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't have injured me in the first place!"  
  
"You ran into my bludger!"  
  
"And you hit it at my seeker!"  
  
"That's what beaters are supposed to do!"  
  
"And I did what good teammates are supposed to do! Are you honestly going to tell me you wouldn't have done the same for Potter?"  
  
"Of course not! You almost killed yourself. Do you know how many people who kill me if I tried to kill myself?"  
  
"Yes, because no one cares if I try and kill myself. It's not like I have friends or family or a fan club. Oh wait! I fucking don't!"  
  
Black sighed, crossing his arms and looking at me. "You do have friends. I know for a fact that Meaver talked Dumbledore's ear off until he let her come, and Carter wasn't about to let you go with only one visitor."  
  
"Wow," I whispered, crossing my arms like he was, "my only friend and my quidditch captain…"  
  
"You have family too. Your sister visited you –"  
  
"It's not as if I asked her to."  
  
"And as for a fan club, well, I'd be honored to be part of your fan club. I think you are way more beautiful than you give yourself credit for." I tensed as he uncrossed his arms and legs, shuffled towards me, and put a hand on my cheek. "You don't see it, but you are gorgeous…"  
  
My eyes widened as he leaned in closer. Stop him! The little voice in my head screamed. Turn your head! Take his hand off of you! Stop letting him pull you in! You complete idiot!  
  
But I didn't. And then our noses touched and he took a deep breath. And so did I. And he leaned in closer, and then…  
  
"Are you guys kissing?"  
  
I turned quickly, the small child's voice jerking me out of my semi-comatose state. I saw Black lower his head to rest it upon his arm from the corner of my eye, his hand lightly touching my chin, jerked from its spot on my cheek when I turned. But it was the small girl in front of me that had captured my attention. She was in a small hospital gown and her hair was disheveled, as if she'd just woken up. I quickly slipped off the cot I was on and knelt down in front of her.  
  
"Nope. No kissing here!" I whispered feverishly as Black scoffed behind me. Ignoring him, I kept my attention on the child. "What are you doing here sweetie?"  
  
"I'm sick. Mommy and Daddy are keeping me here until I get better."  
  
"Oh, that's good. You will definitely get better here. Now what's your name?"  
  
"Annabelle. I'm six years old!"  
  
"Oh, that's a beautiful name, Annabelle. And six years old? Wow!" I said, distractively, trying to keep my mind off of Black.  
  
"What's your name?" She asked, reaching over and lightly pulling on a strand of my hair.  
  
"My name is Lexi. And I'm sixteen years old."  
  
The little girl nodded and quickly glanced at Black. "What's his name," she said even quieter, making me lean closer to hear her.  
  
"That's Bl – That's Sirius. He's a… A friend of mine."  
  
"Were you gonna kiss him?" Annabelle asked.  
  
"No," I said quickly. "Definitely not."  
  
Annabelle nodded slowly. "Yes you were. My Mommy and Daddy do that all the time. They say it's because they love each other. Do you love Siri-bus?"  
  
"No. And we weren't about to kiss. Now, why are you here, Annabelle?"  
  
"I told you. I'm sick and –"  
  
"Yes, you're here to get better. But why are over here? Next to me?"  
  
Annabelle started biting her bottom lip and looked over at Black, fear on her face. "There was a lady. A scary lady. And Mommy and Daddy say she's the reason I'm sick. I had a nightmare about her, like always. I heard her say horrible words. And Daddy says that when I have a nightmare that I find one of the Healers and they'll make it go away. But the door won't open and I heard you two talking. You aren't Healers, are you?"  
  
I shook my head. "No, sweetie, we're not. Now how about we get you back to your cot, okay? That way when your Mommy and Daddy come back they know where to find you."  
  
She nodded fearfully and Black made to get down from the cot, but she flinched and he quickly froze in place. I looked over at him and he shrugged.  
  
"Annabelle," I asked quietly, "why are you afraid of Sirius?"  
  
She had stopped playing with my hair but had started playing with her own, fretfully tugging on a strand of it. "The scary lady had his eyes."  
  
Black swore and I turned to give him a furious glare. "Don't worry, Annabelle. Sirius is nice. I'm nice, right?" The child nodded. "And he's my friend, so he has to be nice, right?" She nodded again. "Okay then. Let's get you back to your cot."  
  
I stood up quietly and took Annabelle's hand, looking back at Black who was still precariously perched on 'our' cot. He raised his eyebrows at me and I nodded as I swiftly and silently brought Annabelle back to her bed. He leapt off the cot and landed without a sound, shuffling after us. I pulled back Annabelle's curtains and picked her up. Walking around the cot, I lay her down with her head on the small pillow and sat next to her.  
  
"You'll stay here with me, won't you?" She asked in a small voice.  
  
I smiled. "I wasn't about to leave, sweetheart."  
  
She nodded, but looked fearfully to something behind me as I felt something tangle in my hair. I turned and saw Black playing with a few strands of my hair. Frowning at him, I turned back to Annabelle.  
  
"Remember Annabelle, Sirius is my friend. He's not going to hurt you, I promise," I said, reaching out and placing my hand over her tiny one.  
  
She nodded quickly but didn't take her eyes off of him as he began tugging at my hair. "Can _I_ play with your hair?"  
  
I smiled and giggled. Turning to Black, I pulled my hair out of his grasp as he frowned. I crossed my legs, facing him, as I felt Annabelle shift behind me, and suddenly small, cold fingers were threading their way into my hair, careful around the bandages. Black smirked at me and crossed his legs too, mirroring my position, so I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him.  
  
"What happened to your head?" Annabelle asked as she lightly traced the white gauze pad on my head.  
  
"That was my fault," Sirius said, before I could answer. "I accidentally hurt her while playing quidditch."  
  
Annabelle's fingers slid to my neck and I shivered. Black waggled his eyebrows at me and I may or may not have – bet on may – have given him the finger out of Annabelle's sights.  
  
"But I thought you weren't supposed to hurt people you liked," Annabelle said.  
  
I grinned. "You're not. But Sirius isn't the kind of boy who keeps to the rules."  
  
"Is Siri-bus a troublemaker?"  
  
He laughed quietly and nodded. Annabelle's hands dropped to my back as I felt the cot shift as she sat down. She lightly feathered the ends of my hair before stopping entirely. Sighing, she began to trace patterns on my back.  
  
"I can't reach your hair. Bend back," she demanded.  
  
"I can't, it'll hurt my head."  
  
"But standing up is hard. I get tired," she whined.  
  
Black looked around me to smile at Annabelle. "Do you want to sit on my lap? You'll reach higher."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Black winked at me and I rolled my eyes. He swiftly got off the cot and moved over to Annabelle, lifting her up and sitting down. I felt tiny hands thread their way through my hair again, and a larger hand pulling them away anytime they got close to my bandages.  
  
I closed my eyes as the cold fingers massaged my scalp and suddenly I felt a fingernail trail down my right arm. I shivered and felt rather than heard Black laugh behind me. I silently cursed at him in my head, rather vividly too, as he began to trace things on my arm.  
  
"Guess what it is," he murmured as Annabelle ignored him.  
  
I opened my eyes and stared directly ahead at the brick wall as I felt his finger trace three circles and a strange sort of square on top of the rectangle. Smiling, I added three buttons, one carrot nose and two coal eyes in my head.  
  
"Snowman."  
  
Black laughed and traced a checkmark on my arm. He lifted his finger and brought it back down again. Annabelle was all but forgotten. He started to draw something else; a circle with two little triangles on the side, and inside, two dots, an upside down triangle and a curved line.  
  
"A cat?"  
  
"No!" He exclaimed, seemingly offended.  
  
I grinned. "An idiot." He scoffed and I giggled. "A dog, right?"  
  
"Right you are."  
  
"And is it a black dog, shaggy and with a loopy grin?" I felt a checkmark on my arm. "Like I said, an idiot."  
  
He pinched me and I giggled. Annabelle's fingers slipped uncomfortably close to my bandages but I felt Black's steady hand guide it away. His fingers went back to my arm and traced a loopy line that didn't connect to itself. I cocked my head, jarring Annabelle's hands a little, not realizing what the drawing could be. He traced it again but I didn't say anything.  
  
"It's a letter," he said, tracing it again.  
  
"G!" I said, happy that I finally got it.  
  
He traced a checkmark, then began tracing a single circle.  
  
"O?" Checkmark. "A line?"  
  
"A space."  
  
"G, O, space. Go?" Checkmark. "T… O… Space?" Checkmark. "Go to… H… O… G… S… M… E… A… D… E… Go to, hogs – Hogsmeade. Space. W… I… T… H… Go to Hogsmeade with..."  
  
I tensed as I realized what was coming. But Black didn't seem to notice. His fingers traced the letter M on my arm, but I kept quiet. He traced it again and again, but I just stared at the wall. His fingers eventually dropped off of my arm and I sighed, closing my eyes, focusing on Annabelle's small hands.  
  
A large stone of guilt settled in my gut. I reached behind me and fumbled for his hand, finally grabbing it and pulling it closer. Taking my finger, I slowly traced a jumble of random lines on his palm, not doing any kind of pattern, until I finally lifted my hand and then put it back down again.  
  
I traced the letter I slowly and waited a few seconds before continuing. Then I traced the letter M, followed by a line at the bottom, then the letter S, one O, two R's and a Y. _I'm sorry_.  
  
I pulled my hand away and put it next to me, closing my eyes again. But then I felt a light touch near my wrist. His fingers opened the tight fist I had made and entwined his fingers with mine. I felt a jolt in my stomach, but didn't take my hand away. He began to run his thumb along the back of my hand and I suppressed a shiver.  
  
What are you doing? I screamed at myself. What are you trying to do? You are being sucked in by the Casanova of Hogwarts. He has more conquests than you have centimeters of veins in your body! Stop it, now!  
  
But I didn't. And I let him hold my hand as Annabelle played with my hair. I had almost forgotten that we were in a lockdown until a sharp scream filled the air. I jumped off the cot, ripping my hair free from Annabelle's fingers and my hand from Black's grasp. Another scream ripped through the silence and the familiarity of it hit home like a ton of bricks. I felt the blood leave my face as my sister's wail pierced my ears.  
  
"Cami!" I screamed, running towards the door. "Cami! CAMILLA!" Sobs racked my body as I slammed myself against the door. "CAMI!"  
  
I felt Black thread his arms around me as he pulled me away from the door, but I kicked out, trying to make him let me go. He put his hand over my mouth to try and shut me up but I shook my head violently and ripped his hand away.  
  
"Get off me Black," I hissed. "CAMI! Cami!" Black let go of me and I rammed into the door, jiggling the handle. "Cami! CA –"  
  
My voice left me, my mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out. I turned to see Black standing with arm outstretched, wand pointed towards me. I gave him a murderous look.  
  
"Now Ace," he said, his hands put up defensively, "you need to be quiet. You don't want them to try and get in, do you?" I shook my head. "It's your sister, right? Well, I get that you feel the need to go do something, but you have to be quiet. I'll take the spell off of you if you promise not to start screaming at me and at the door."  
  
I reluctantly nodded and he waved his wand. I opened my mouth and let a small noise filter out. But almost as soon as I opened my mouth again to hiss at him for hexing me, I realized something. Snapping my head up, I rushed at him and began hitting him.  
  
"You can do non-verbal magic? And you used magic on me? After injuring me in a magical game, you were willing to use more magic on me? You idiot! You complete and utter idiot," I hissed. "Now if you want me to stay quiet, you are going to help me out of his stupid room, or gag me, because I am getting out of here and helping my sister!"  
  
Black caught my wrists as I finished and brought me closer to him. "Listen, you numpty. Your sister needs your help, and all you're doing is yelling at a door. You want to do something, right? Then shut up and follow my lead," he murmured.  
  
He let my wrists go, his eyes flashing dangerously. Turning, he made his way towards Annabelle's cot, letting me follow behind. Leaning against the bed frame, he smiled at Annabelle who was playing with a small stuffed rabbit.  
  
"Hello Annabelle. I'm going to need you to do something for me," he said quietly. Annabelle looked at me, a small touch of fear in her small brown eyes, but I nodded at her. "Annabelle," Black continued, "can you hide under your bed for me?"  
  
She nodded and got out of her bed. I realized what Black was planning on doing a second later and I walked over to the little girl. Helping her inch under the cot, I handed her a pillow to put under her head and a quilt from the bed to keep her warm. Passing her the tiny stuffed rabbit, I laid down on my stomach and put my hand on her head, smoothing away her flyaway blonde hair.  
  
"We're going to need you to be quiet, okay? Sirius and I are going to leave, but when we're gone, I need you to be completely silent. Only come out or say something if it's an emergency or if your Mummy or Daddy come get you. Okay?" I asked.  
  
She nodded. I smiled and got up, wiping a tear from my eye and glaring at Black.  
  
"Now how are we going to get out?"  
  
He smiled and looked up.  
  
I swore quietly so Annabelle couldn't hear. "You have _got_ to be kidding."  
  
I banged my head against the metal top of the vent and swore softly as my head began to pound. Skimming the bandages on my head, I placed my hand on my temple and stopped, wincing.  
  
"Are you going to keep moving or not?" Black hissed from behind me.  
  
"I'm sorry if the fucking injury you gave me is slowing me down. Next time, I'll go out of my way to avoid you."  
  
"You're the one who ran into my fucking bludger."  
  
"Oh fuck off Black. You're the reason I'm not in a hospital cot, lying down and relaxing."  
  
"Yeah, because you can be relaxed during a fucking death eater attack."  
  
"Better than being in an air duct."  
  
"You're the one who wanted to leave."  
  
"My sister is in fucking trouble you insensitive arsehat."  
  
"Yeah, I'm the insensitive one…"  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Nothing. Just keep crawling."  
  
I rolled my eyes at the pouty teenage boy behind me, even if he couldn't see me, and continued on my route. The insufferable boy was getting on my last nerve. I was _this_ close to turning around and cracking him a good one on the nose. When I finally stopped again, I was crouched in front of two separate air duct tunnels. Sighing and sitting down with my head bowed down, I turned to Black.  
  
"What way?" I asked, resigned.  
  
"I don't know. It's not as if I know where I'm going. Ask someone you care about."  
  
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Nothing."  
  
"No, it's fucking something. Stop moping and tell me who the fuck pissed in your cornflakes this morning."  
  
"I had waffles this morning."  
  
"Ooh, waffles. Do you not know what I meant?"  
  
"No, I know what you meant, but perhaps I don't really want to talk to you."  
  
"WHY THE FUCK NOT?"  
  
"BECAUSE YOU'RE CONFUSING ME! You're such a bitch half the time, but then you're nice and caring and you seem to like me, but then you change and become that sarcastic bitch again and I don't know what to do. You're sending me mixed signals!"  
  
"Yeah? Well that's rich coming from the fucking playboy of Hogwarts, always with his tongue down another girl's throat. How am I supposed to feel when the boy who's known for being a player starts to show interest in me, even though he's hated me for the last few years?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe happy? Someone's actually paying attention to you for the first time since Diggory, who was only with you because you were desperate!"  
  
My breath caught in my throat. I turned away from him, my eyes burning, tears threatening to spill over. He had no right to say anything about me or Diggory. No right to talk to me about anything that happened between Diggory and I. No right to talk to me about mixed signals or being happy that someone thought I was pretty. I turned and gave him one last look before getting back on my hands and knees and crawling into the right tunnel.  
  
"Ace, wait up! Ace! Lexi! JAMES! Damn it! JAMES!" Black called from behind me.  
  
I heard him make his way through the air duct, but being much smaller, I was much quicker. Trying to move quickly and quietly, I didn't notice the small vent ahead of me as Black finally caught up to me. He grabbed my ankle and I fell, making a loud bump against the silver air duct.  
  
"Damn it James, when I say wait up, you mind waiting?"  
  
The tears were falling down my face as I turned around and looked at him. He glanced at me and backed away, letting his hand fall off of my ankle. Concern flashed over his face but I didn't care.  
  
"Get off of me," I said darkly, even if he wasn't touching me. "Get off of me and go away. I don't want to talk to you again. Ignore me in the corridors at school, ignore me in class. If you so much as look at me again, I will personally throw you into the ocean with a rock tied to your feet and your wand snapped in two."  
  
"Ace…"  
  
"Go away."  
  
He nodded, moving farther back from me. He seemed ready to say one more thing to me, but suddenly the air duct began to shake. I looked down and then up again, locking eyes with Black. His grey ones reflected my green ones, panic and confusion overwhelming every other emotion.  
  
A sharp light suddenly burst from between us, almost hitting my feet, severing the air duct and sending a scream of cut metal into my ears. The air duct bent under us and suddenly, another light was sent up directly in front of me, singing off the small hairs that stuck out at odd angles at the crown of my head.  
  
"Black," I said, my voice shaking as the air duct began to buckle. "Sirius!"  
  
Just as our gazes met again, the solid platform beneath me fell, dragging me along with it. I screamed as it fell, but it was quickly cut off as I hit the ground with a seemingly bone-shattering crash. My right shoulder screamed in protest and my breath caught as my head was jolted.  
  
"Sirius?" I croaked as I coughed. "Sirius?"  
  
"Ooh, pretty boy Sirius is here, is he? Sirius, Sirius! Where _are_ you?" A young witch with corkscrew black curls and eyes that rivaled Siri – uh, Black's, cooed in a baby voice, so different from her outward, over-sexualized appearance.  
  
She looked up at the ceiling above me where a large rectangle, the same size as the air duct piece I was lying on, was cut out. The strange witch giggled and raised her wand, muttering something. Suddenly, Sirius flew from the hole in the ceiling and landed on top of me, hitting my wrenched shoulder and I cried out in pain. He immediately rolled off of me but almost as soon as his weight was lifted, I felt an unimaginable pain in my shoulder. Looking up, I saw the strange looking witch standing above me, one of her high-heeled boots digging into my shoulder.  
  
"And look who this is. Does little Sirius have a girlfriend?"  
  
She dug her foot even harder into my shoulder and I let out a sharp cry of pain. Black leapt to his feet on my other side.  
  
"Bellatrix, stop it."  
  
"Oh, so this _is_ your girlfriend. Hello darling," she said, looking down at me. "Met my cousin, have you? Little bit of an idiot, that one. But I haven't properly said hello!"  
  
"Bellatrix, please."  
  
"Would you like to become properly acquainted with me darling?" She dug her boot in harder and I whimpered. "I guess so. _Crucio_!"  
  
My body spasmed as pain coursed through my veins, so much worse than anything I'd ever been through. I heard screams and it took me a second to realize they were mine. Everything else seemed murky, slow as if time had slowed down.  
  
Through the slits of my eyes, I saw Black being held back by two large men in silver masks, as Bellatrix laughed, her wand pointed directly at me. It felt like hours but suddenly, the pain was gone. My breaths came in jagged chucks, tears covering my cheeks as I found myself in the fetal position. Clutching my knees, I sobbed into my arm.  
  
"Bellatrix, please. Don't," Black was begging.  
  
"Well, sweetheart," Bellatrix said, turning her attention to me and ignoring Black, "still want to be this tosser's girlfriend?"  
  
"I'm… I'm… I'm not his… his fucking girlfriend!" I said between heaving sobs.  
  
Bellatrix cackled. "You're not. Then what do you think of my baby cousin you wittle bitty Gryffindor?"  
  
"I'm not a… a fucking Gryffindor either. And I think… I think that he's an arse. He can… go… go to hell."  
  
"Ooh, a feisty little girl. Got some fire in you. I can see why you like her, Sirius. Too bad she's a lying bitch… _Crucio_!"  
  
I screamed again, feeling as if my limbs were being ripped from me by savage wolves, while my blood was being boiled and my organs were being frozen and crushed under a hammer. But it was so much worse. When it finally stopped, I tried to breathe but it ended up in small little gasps.  
  
My cheeks were covered in tears and the pain in my shoulder was nothing compared to the ache that the Cruciatus Curse left. I opened my eyes and saw Black straining against his captors. Bellatrix said something, but her voice was caught in the muffled veil over my senses. I hiccoughed as tears ran down my face again. As the tears slowed and my breath returned to normal – or somewhat normal – I heard Bellatrix and Black talking.  
  
"Now what are you doing in St. Mungo's of all places, Sirius? Shouldn't you be playing good little Gryffindor at Hogwarts?" Bellatrix cooed.  
  
"Just let her go! Please! She's only here for her sister. She doesn't deserve this."  
  
"Oh, and are you going to take her place? Not likely, blood traitor. We have plans for you."  
  
Bellatrix turned back to me and pointed her wand towards me again, pain exploding from every pore in my body. But this time I bit my tongue, trying not to let a sound pass through my lips. As the pain continued, tearing my skin and leaving acid as bandages in its place, a moan of pain escaped my lips and the whisper of a cackle came through the foggy air around me, remnants of Bellatrix's giggle. When I couldn't take it anymore I screamed out. But suddenly, two hands were on my face, wiping away the tears that had leaked out of my eyes again.  
  
"Hey, it's going to be okay. Just take a breath," Black said quietly. "It's going to be okay."  
  
I nodded, pain exploding in my head, tears still running down my cheeks. "Promise me. Promise me it'll be okay Sirius," I said through my cracked throat.  
  
By the way, screaming is really not good for your voice.  
  
"I promise. Just take a deep breath. It's going to be okay."  
  
I nodded again. He wiped away more of the tears and brushed some of my flyaway hairs back.  
  
"Stay strong, Ace."  
  
I smiled through the sobs but almost as soon as my smile formed, his hands were ripped away and a sharp cackle ripped through the air.  
  
"Told you the bitch was his girlfriend. _Crucio_!"  
  
(Sirius' POV)  
  
Meaver had Lexi's head in her lap, trying to cool her down by placing her cold hands on her best friend's forehead. When we had first gotten thrown in the room, she had stumbled and fallen, hitting her head on the ground, but I had stayed standing.  
  
Prongs, Moony and Wormtail had been sitting in a corner, bruises and cuts showing clearly on their exposed skin, Kendra and Lily were in another with Meaver, Day and elder James, the same bruises evident on them as well, and many other people scattered about the large room. As soon as Lexi had hit the ground though, Meaver, Day and elder James had leapt up and ran over. Meaver had glared at me until I moved over to the other marauders, though, so I had no idea how Lexi was doing.  
  
"You're staring again, mate," Remus said.  
  
I turned to him and scoffed. "You aren't even looking at me, you're staring at Meaver."  
  
James scoffed. "You are totally staring, Padfoot, don't even try and make excuses."  
  
"Well, she's hurt. I'd like to make sure she's okay."  
  
"Yeah," James said, "that's all you want."  
  
"She's a bet, mate. Just a bet."  
  
"Really?" Interrupted Remus. "Because the bet's just woken up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, I know this is usually when I insert another chapter about the Gryffindor party, but this chapter is actually split into two because I couldn't cut it short. Hope you like it! Read and review!


	12. Prisons, Parties and Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting captured by Death Eaters? Perfect. Having an argument with Sirius Black of all people about horrible families? Great. Why do I never get a break? I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

I woke up coughing, pain exploding in my head. I heard muffled voices and then suddenly I felt a hand slap against my cheek. My eyes flew open and I saw Charlie's blue eyes sparkling at me.  
  
"The hell wassat for, Charles?" I asked, my words slurring.  
  
"You were mumbling about someone and I don't think you would want anyone else to hear that."  
  
"What was I mumbling?" I asked, sitting straight up. "What was I mumbling?" I asked again, even more urgently.  
  
She gave me a coy smile as a shadow passed over us. I looked up and groaned.  
  
"Meaver, Ace," Black said stiffly.  
  
"Oh shut up Charlie," I said as she raised her eyebrow suggestively at me.  
  
Black furrowed his brow. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"  
  
I sighed. "Aren't you always?" I asked, tapping his head as he sat down.  
  
He glared at me but I shrugged it off. I looked at my nails, picking at the dirt underneath them. An uncomfortable silence fell over us as he began to play with the laces of his sneakers.  
  
"What are you doing here Black?" Charlie asked. Her voice seemed harsh but I heard the actual question lying underneath.  
  
I wouldn't say he blushed, but Black definitely coloured. "I needed to make sure she was okay."  
  
I felt my cheeks burn as I looked at the ground. Thankfully, Carter and Cami were pretending to ignore us a few feet away, and the rest of the Hogwarts students were nowhere near.  
  
"You don't have to check up on me," I hissed.  
  
"But I wanted to."  
  
"Well what if I  _didn't_  want you to?"  
  
"And why wouldn't you want that?"  
  
"Because you promised me it would be okay and it wasn't!" My voice rose an octave and I saw Lily glance over.  
  
"Just because I said something," Black said quietly, "doesn't make it true."  
  
"No," I hissed back at him, "but when that's the only words you can hear, you tend to hope they come true."  
  
Our conversation died down and the awkward silence came back again. I looked around the room, taking in all the details. In one corner, the other three fourths of the marauders were leaned in close to each other, gossiping like the fifth year Hufflepuffs. In another, Lily and Kendra were tending to a man who seemed unconscious, while other people were sitting near them, huddled together.  
  
A woman who appeared to be the unconscious man's wife was crying, but still seemed to be helping Kendra and Lily. Carter and Cami were sitting in silence, awkwardly glancing about the room. Carter seemed to be increasingly distracted by the small white lines that crisscrossed on Cami's arm and I stifled a giggle. Knowing Cami, she was probably putting them in his line of sight on purpose. Looking back at Charlie and Black, I saw Charlie's gaze fixed on Carter.  
  
"You can go talk to him," I said quietly to her. Her head jerked back to me, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks. "You don't need to stay with me. The company's not much to be desired for, but I won't be alone."  
  
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.  
  
I gave her a smile in response. She returned it gratefully and left, leaving me alone with Black. I saw him look at me from the corner of my eye but I kept my head down, embarrassment clouding my head.  
  
"I'm sorry I was so harsh," I whispered.  
  
"Why were you?"  
  
I looked at him. His eyes were dark and stormy.  
  
"I don't know. All I remember is you telling me it was going to be okay, and all I could do was believe you. All I wanted to do was believe you. And then you stopped trying…"  
  
I looked at him, my eyes swimming with tears. He looked startled.  
  
"What do you mean I stopped trying?"  
  
I sighed. "From what I could tell, you just stopped telling me it was going to be okay. You stopped fighting."  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked urgently. "I never stopped trying to get them to stop."  
  
"Yes you did. It kept hurting but your words stopped. You stopped fighting. I could hear you laugh."  
  
"I  _never_  laughed." The tears were running down my face now. "I  _never_  laughed," he repeated.  
  
I didn't respond, just looked away. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm. I looked back and he had a sad look on his face.  
  
"You died. You died back there. They let me go and I tried to restart your heart but it wasn't enough. Bella tried to torture your body and I snapped. I rushed her, but by that time I heard strange coughing from you. I don't know how, but she restarted your heart with the curse. That was why I was laughing."  
  
"I don't care," I said harshly. "You promised me it was going to be okay."  
  
"Are you kidding? We were captured by death eaters. How were we supposed to get out of there without a scratch?"  
  
"I don't know. How did you?"  
  
His face paled and he didn't respond. His hand dropped from my arm and I shifted away from him.  
  
"Exactly. And by the way, who the hell is Bella? Friend of yours? Family, even?" His already pale face paled even more if that was possible and I snorted. "Figures. An arsehat like you had to have some dirty little secret."  
  
"Everyone has skeletons in their closet," he said dangerously. "No need to ask what yours is."  
  
He looked over at Cami who was absentmindedly running her fingers down the scars that ran from her elbow to her wrist, crossing over the smaller ones that circled those small wrists. I felt my face flush in anger and shot him a glare. Trying to stand up, I stumbled and he shot up to catch me. I tried to wrench my arm out of his grasp although it left prickles of pain in my shoulder and elbow as his large hand stayed wrapped tightly around my wrist. His eyes were still dark, staring at me, daring me to say something. I didn't turn away as we both stood there, daring the other to break eye contact first. Finally, I looked away.  
  
"Those scars aren't mine to be haunted by," I whispered. "They don't mean a thing to me."  
  
"And yet, my family haunts me. Don't say a thing about them ever again, you idiotic bint."  
  
I glared at him and finally pulled my arm out of his grasp. "It would appear we have that in common."  
  
With that I walked off and headed over to Cami, Charlie and Carter. They gave me tentative smiles as a welcome but I didn't return them. Sitting down, I lay my head against Cami's shoulder. She wrapped an arm around my waist and began stroking my hair like she used to when we were young.  
  
"Hush, 'Dria. We'll get out of here soon," she said, the familiar phrase from our childhood hitting me hard.  
  
"Do you promise?" I asked quietly.  
  
She sighed. "Until my last breath."  
  
I snuggled closer to her, our backs against a wall. As Carter and Charlie talked and laughed right next to us, I slowly traced the white marks on my sister's arms until I drifted off.  
  
I drifted in and out of a dreamless sleep for hours. Once I managed to glance over at Black, who was staring at me, but he quickly dropped his head, his hands tightening into fists. When I finally decided that it was probably time for me to wake up, I straightened up. My back groaned with displeasure as I slowly stretched. All my muscles were sore, my joints even more so. As I tried to stand up, I kept one hand against the wall, my legs shaking under my weight. I took one step and winced in agony as pain shot up my calf and danced along my knee.  
  
Charlie gave me a wary look through lidded eyes but let me pass without asking what I was doing. As I slowly made my way to the other side of the room, I saw three fourths of the marauders look up and watch me. Three guesses who wasn't. As I neared the group of people I didn't know, I saw the man who had been unconscious lying next to his wife. She had bags under her eyes and didn't seem to want to sleep. I limped over and sat down a little further than I should have for easy conversation.  
  
"What happened?" I asked quietly.  
  
She sniffed, tightening her grip on a light blue handkerchief. "Tortured."  
  
I nodded. "Is he going to be okay?"  
  
"I think so. He seems to be getting better."  
  
"How do you know?" I asked. "You don't look like a Healer."  
  
She gave a slight laugh. "I'm not. I'm a doctor. A surgeon actually. Do you…"  
  
"Yeah, I know what surgeons are. My father's a muggle. So is your husband a muggle too?" She nodded sadly. "Then you must have someone here who's either magical or hurt."  
  
"My daughter," she hiccoughed. "And both actually."  
  
"That's terrible. What happened to her?"  
  
"We were attacked a year ago by the same people that are out there. They tortured Greg and me and then I saw Annabelle get hit by some sort of purple light. But right around that time, these people rescued us. They took us here. Annabelle had to stay though, they told me. We visit all the time. We were supposed to visit today…"  
  
"Annabelle? Little girl, curious, pretty brazen?"  
  
"That's my Annabelle," she said, smiling.  
  
I sighed happily. "She's okay. Don't worry. I saw her a little while ago."  
  
"She is?"  
  
"Yeah, she is."  
  
The woman began crying, although I hoped it was from happiness. She thanked me quietly and I nodded, standing up shakily to walk back over to Charlie, Carter and Cami. As I passed the marauders, I looked straight at him, my gaze burning, but he didn't look up. Lupin gave me a harsh look but I just flipped my hair and walked away, the limp prominent. If that's how he was going to act, let him do so.  
  
I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of running after him to apologize – even if I did know I went too far. It was common knowledge that Black wasn't on best terms with his family. But even so, dragging my own family into the mix was also a little far. Black be damned. I wasn't about to apologize.  
  
I had been picking at my nails when a large crash reverberated around the room. I sat straight up from my huddled state, my eyes picking out everyone in the room. My gaze crossed Black's but I quickly glanced away, my cheeks burning. Cami woke up from her sleep, a confused look across her face. She grasped at my arm, her words jumbled as she struggled to shake off the sleep.  
  
"I don't know Cami, I don't know," I whispered.  
  
She huddled closer to me, her fingers absentmindedly stroking the scars along her wrists. I put my hands over her wrists, keeping her fingers from grazing the puckered one running down it. She paled as she realized what she was doing and nodded. I held her close as she shivered, the sounds of spells hitting walls and screeched curses coming from the one door. It was a familiar position to us, although it was also unfamiliar.  
  
Usually, she was the one holding me, but I knew her heart and mind were racing faster than she could keep up with, her heart rate skyrocketing. Trying to soothe her, I let her fingernails dig into my shoulder, the tips piercing the skin there. As we sat there, a small whimper came from my left and I saw Charlie huddling next to Carter. He had wrapped his arms around her and I smiled at the sight of them.  
  
Until recently, I had just seen them as my best friend and my quidditch captain/best guy friend. But now that I picked up on the glances, the awkward movement to keep from touching each other  _too_  much, it was surprising I hadn't known sooner. Of course, I'm a nutter, so that might've been part of it. As the room shuddered from the noises on the other side of the door, I saw Potter, Black and Lupin stand up, fists clenched and up. I tried hissing at them, cursing at them to get down in case the door went flying, but suddenly it went quiet and my voice trailed off.  
  
A clicking could be heard from the locking mechanism and Cami's nails dug into my shoulder even more. I winced as I felt blood trickle out, but my immediate attention was directed at the door. A shudder came from the lock and the door burst open, hitting Potter in the shoulder. He twirled around only to fall over from the impact, but Lupin and Black jumped on the intruders. Sharp screams were heard and muttered spells were uttered, and when the lights cleared, I saw an older wizard standing over Black and Lupin's unconscious forms. A handful of other witches and wizards formed ranks behind him as he smiled at us.  
  
"Heard you needed a rescuer."  
  
**********  
  
It had been a week and a half since the aurors rescued us from the death eaters. Dumbledore had wanted me to stay in St. Mungo's after being tortured, but I was adamant that I had to leave. Nothing like going to the hospital only to stay there after getting hurt,  _in the hospital_ , to make you look like a tosser. Of course, the healers weren't happy about it, but since Cami was technically my 'legal guardian' (for a few months anyways), they couldn't keep me there.  
  
One of the nurses had given me a cane after seeing my limp, which made me feel breakable. As I walked around the Hogwarts hallways, the clack of the cane made me wince as people's gaze was drawn to me. Ever since the attack on St. Mungo's, the marauders, Lily, Carter, Kendra, Charlie and I were being hounded for the story. I didn't say much, but Black had been going on and on about how he singlehandedly delivered us from the grasps of the death eaters  
  
Total bollucks. The tosser couldn't even  _function_  without his wand. But ever since the attack, he hadn't looked at me once without glaring. I didn't take it personally, but it stung. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone so far. But then again, he had no qualms about poking at Cami's scars. I still had his trousers and jumper, laundered and folded in my trunk, although I was too chicken to give them back to him. I had gotten used to wearing the jumper when it got cold in my dorm as I didn't have one as warm as his.  
  
It made me feel strange, but his scent still lingered and it reassured me as I lay up some nights, letting my hands drift along the paths of bruises that wound around my legs. One day, as I was walking to Charms, I felt an arm pull me to the side of the corridor. My legs giving out on me, I fell into my offender's arms, lifting my head to see familiar grey eyes. Cursing, I stood up, leaning on my cane.  
  
"Sorry," Black said, not seeming the least bit sorry. "Forgot about… that."  
  
"The cane? Yeah, I wish I could too…"  
  
Our conversation (if you could call it that) dwindled off and I looked around at the students giving us wary looks.  
  
"So the party," he finally said.  
  
"Party?"  
  
"Your victory party. For quidditch," he clarified as I gave him a mystified glance.  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
"Anyways, it's tomorrow night at nine."  
  
I looked at him incredulously. "I'm walking with a cane, I was tortured a week or so ago after having a procedure to heal my skull, and you think I want to go to a party tomorrow?" He looked down, his shoulders slumping. "I'll be there by ten, the rest of the team in tow. Tell Potter he better keep the drinks coming, though."  
  
I wouldn't call it happiness, but Black's face lit up. I rolled my eyes and turned, limping away with my cane.  
  
I held my breath, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes making me nauseous. I was sitting on a couch in some room on the seventh floor. I had never been in it, but considering I wasn't much of a party girl, that wasn't surprising. As I sat, I nursed a drink that Potter had given me the second I walked in along with the rest of the Ravenclaw players. Someone sat down beside me and I recognized Amelia. Her flawless makeup was smudged, her eyeliner running down her face.  
  
"Amelia!" I exclaimed. "What happened?"  
  
"I kissed Sirius Black and I think I became his girlfriend," the younger girl hiccoughed.  
  
"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, you think he's fit, don't you?"  
  
She nodded, more tears overflowing. "Yeah, but I overheard him telling someone that I was the fourth girl he started 'dating' tonight."  
  
My blood started boiling as Amelia's green eyes teared up again. I reassured her that if she didn't want to be Sirius Black's girlfriend, she didn't have to be, but her hysterics were enough to get me to send her back to the common room with another Ravenclaw fifth year. Steaming, I grabbed my cane – that I had charmed to make it flash different colours depending on my mood – and walked around the party, trying to find the idiot in question. As I neared Lupin, he swiftly stepped in front of me and grabbed my shoulders.  
  
"You look like you're about to murder someone. Perhaps this isn't the best time to go looking for an unnamed third party," he said.  
  
I glared at him. "This  _unnamed party_  just made out with a fifth year and told her he wanted to be her boyfriend."  
  
Lupin's mouth curled up at the corner. "Jealous, Lexi?"  
  
"Hardly," I sniffed. "He has also been overheard saying that she was the fourth girl tonight."  
  
Lupin tensed. He looked around, his eyes focusing on one corner of the room that I couldn't see courtesy of the dancing people in my way. He made to leave, but I stopped him.  
  
"You are not getting to yell at him without me present. I am going to rip him a new one. Make him suffer."  
  
Lupin sighed. "Lexi, give me five minutes. Five, that's it. Go sit down and I'll send him over. If he won't, I give you full permission to hex him for a week, and I'll take the blame every time."  
  
I mulled over the proposition before finally agreeing. Crossing back over to sit on the couch, I closed my eyes as my head began spinning until I felt someone drop down beside me.  
  
"Look Black," I said harshly, without opening my eyes, "you can't just hook up with some fifth year and expect it to go over swiftly. You're lucky I'm handicapped at the moment, or I'd kick you so hard you would never be able to have children." I heard a familiar chuckle and I gasped as my eyes flew open to see Amo – er Diggory – sitting next to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked icily.  
  
"Well," he said bashfully, "I wanted to talk to you about… us."  
  
I stiffened but rolled my eyes nonetheless. "Last time I checked, you tried to beat me senseless, which to me doesn't constitute an 'us.'"  
  
Diggory's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you and the Evans minx have been saying to people, but I didn't beat you."  
  
"The bruise you left on her face seemed to say otherwise," a cruel voice spat out.  
  
I glanced up to see Black, his grey eyes blazing with fury. Looking back at Diggory, I crossed my arms in defiance.  
  
"And what is this? You've hooked up with Sirius Black?" Diggory asked scathingly.  
  
Black snorted. "I wish. She's much too good for me."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Diggory sneered.  
  
"Much too good for you too," I said, staring daggers at him.  
  
"Really? Because it didn't seem that way when I broke up with you."  
  
I laughed, the harsh sound scaring me a little. "Right, because breaking up with someone then getting back together, only to be broken up with by the aforementioned person and consistently try and ask her out again means you are so much better than me, the aforementioned aforementioned-person."  
  
Diggory gave me a cold look but Black smirked. "Now," Black said dangerously, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or this conversation will be held later, where no one will be around to stop me from knocking the living daylights out of you."  
  
"Yeah, as if you could."  
  
I looked at Black and quickly stood, wobbling but keeping my balance as I grasped his arm. My touch seemed to have jolted him back to the reality of where we were. He looked at me, at my pleading face, and grabbed Diggory by the arm, shoving him out of the room. My hand was still clamped tightly around his (muscular) arm and I stumbled after them, my walking cane forgotten. As soon as Black stepped out of the door, he flung Diggory to the ground.  
  
"This was supposed to be a joyous event," he said darkly.  
  
"You know the meaning of the word joyous?" I asked incredulously.  
  
Black gave me a withering look. "I have seen a book every once in a while. I just don't read them." I nodded and he turned his glare back on Diggory. "As for you, you can either leave, or take the other option."  
  
"And the other option is…"  
  
I sighed, knowing what would come next. I slowly took my hand off Black's arm and I saw his patented smirk return.  
  
Then he punched Diggory in the face.  
  
I gasped, my hands flying up to my mouth. I knew he was going to do it, but the visual of Diggory falling to the ground, blood spilling from his nose, was surprising. But almost as soon as he hit the ground, Diggory was up again, his fists up. Of course, neither decided that a wand might be a good idea to have out, but then again, testosterone, right?  
  
I backed up as Diggory charged Black, knocking him into the wall beside me. I let out a small screech as Black almost hit me, jumping out of the way at the last possible moment. Diggory punched Black in the face and I put my hands over my mouth again, stifling a gasp, but I didn't need to worry. Black retaliated, knocking Diggory back onto the floor and punching him when he stood back up again. I saw both their eyes flash dangerously and threw myself in between them.  
  
"Stop it, now!" I screeched shrilly. "No need to act like toddlers. Diggory," I said, relishing in his surprise at my use of his last name, "you need to go. Black, calm the fuck down."  
  
My hands were on each of their chests, keeping them at bay. Black was glaring at Diggory, his lip split and a cut above his eyebrow leaving blood trails down his face. Diggory had blood gushing from his nose and from a gash at his hairline. I saw a black eye forming and tried to keep down my triumphant smile at Black's obvious victory.  
  
"Why should I be the one to leave?" Diggory snarled.  
  
"Because," I said simply, "out of both of you, I like him more, as hard as that is to believe."  
  
Diggory glowered but stepped back, letting my hand fall through thin air. His eyes darkened as he saw Black take my wrist and position himself so that if Diggory did attack us, he was in front of me. He was about to say something but I cut him off.  
  
"Go Diggory. Leave now, before the rest of the idiotic Gryffindors get here. I can't stop more than one of them at a time."  
  
He pursed his lips but swiftly turned, stalking away down the corridor. I let myself relax, turning around and putting a hand on my forehead. Merlin, Diggory was just such an arsehat. I felt Black's hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.  
  
"Sorry my ex-boyfriend is such a prat," I said, giving him a small smile.  
  
He smirked at me. "Nothing I couldn't handle."  
  
I laughed. "It looked to me like he got a few good punches in himself. Your lip is bleeding you know. And your eyebrow."  
  
Black swore rather loudly and I dragged him away from the party room door, making him sit down as I pulled out my wand. Tapping the edge of his eyebrow, I muttered a healing spell. The wound instantly closed up but the blood remained. I did the same to his lip and then sat down in front of him, conjuring a tissue to dab at the fresh and congealed blood. He winced as I fluttered around his eye.  
  
"Well, you unlucky bastard, it seems he clocked you in the eye," I said. "How's it feel having a black eye, Black?"  
  
He smiled at my word play and winced as I intentionally jabbed him near the eye again.  
  
"Oi, watch where you're jabbing your grubby little fingers, woman!" He roared and I giggled.  
  
"Well don't get into fist fights and I won't feel compelled to poke your bruises."  
  
"And why would you do that anyways?"  
  
"Because I like bruises."  
  
He gave me a strange look. "You like bruises?"  
  
"Well, yeah. It's kind of cool that your veins can burst without your skin ripping."  
  
He shook his head, chuckling. "I swear, you are the weirdest girl I have ever met."  
  
"Oi, watch who you're insulting there, man!" I said, imitating him.  
  
He smirked at me. "I can insult you better than that Ace."  
  
"Oh really? I'd like to hear that."  
  
"I'd slap you but I don't want to get slag all over my hand."  
  
"Ooh, good one."  
  
"I see you're wearing clothes. Isn't that a little different from your work uniform?"  
  
"Ouch, I'm wounded."  
  
"If you were any smarter, you might actually beat a rock at Rock, Paper, Scissors."  
  
"Nice one."  
  
"Your mother is a prostitute."  
  
I tensed. Black seemed to notice and his easy smirk fell.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"  
  
"Didn't realize  _what_?" I asked harshly.  
  
"Well, something's up with your parents, since they didn't go see you in St. Mungo's, and now you're acting like Moony – er, Remus – when I've gone and mentioned your mum. And his is dead, so…"  
  
"My mum left my dad when I was little. She left Cami and I with him." I sighed, feeling something tightening in my chest. "My dad was an abusive drunk."  
  
The silence that fell hurt my ears. Black stared at me as I felt tears spring to my eyes. Looking anywhere but at him, I quickly wiped them away.  
  
"I'm sorry…" He finally said, letting the last word drift off into a whisper.  
  
"Don't be," I said. "What did you say? We all have skeletons in our closet? That's one of mine."  
  
He stared at me, his eyes darting all over my face. "My family wants to disown me," he finally blurted out.  
  
I finally looked at him. "Why?"  
  
"'Cause I'm a Gryffindor."  
  
"Well that's stupid."  
  
"Well, that's my family."  
  
"Well fuck them!"  
  
"Yeah, that's not high up on my list, considering… well, incest."  
  
I laughed. "No you numpty! Argh, you're being an idiot."  
  
He smirked. "Yeah, I am aren't I?"  
  
We smiled at each other, sitting in the corridor, until the door to the party opened and a gaggle of fourth year Gryffindor girls tumbled out. They walked past us and tittered when Siri – Black! – turned his gaze on them. When they finally skirted around the corner at the end of the corridor, Black (!) turned to look at me again, but I just looked back at the party room door.  
  
"You should go back, have fun with your friends. It's your party after all," I said, tilting my chin to point at the door. "I'm going to head out now anyways. Only so much partying, you know?"  
  
"Not important. They can survive one night without me. And anyways," he continued, looking pointedly at me, "this party was technically for you and your team for beating us. If you don't go back to have fun, why should I?"  
  
"Because you planned this?"  
  
"Oh pish posh. We had this planned for months. All we really had to do was change the decorations from red to blue and put Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor."  
  
I raised my eyebrow at him in an attempt at an ' _excuse me_ ' face. "Okay, one, did you really just say the words pish and posh together, in a sentence?" When he nodded cheekily, I continued. "Two, that's a little full of yourself, expecting you'd beat us. Three, I've never been one for parties, and anyways, I'm getting tired."  
  
Black smirked again. "Well, when we heard that you weren't seeker anymore, we obviously thought we'd win. We didn't expect that little shrimp to actually catch the fucking snitch."  
  
I felt my cheeks colour. "Wow. That's a little harsh, don't you think?"  
  
"Nope!"  
  
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop the smile creeping onto my face. "Fine. But I really am tired. I'm going to go back to my dormitory. Thanks for keeping me company."  
  
Black gave me a mischievous grin. I didn't like that. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of my thanks but quickly stood up, holding out his hand to help me. I took it and he pulled me up as if I was a rag doll. Catching myself on the wall, I tried to pull my hand out of his grasp but he didn't let me. I looked at him, a little scared, and saw his grin. As fast as lightning, he picked me up by the waist and threw me over his shoulder.  
  
"Black!" I shrieked. "Let me down from here!"  
  
"But you're a cripple. And I couldn't possibly let a cripple limp back to her dormitory without at least some form of transportation."  
  
"I am perfectly capable of getting back to my common room on my own. If you do not let me down  _now_ , I will curse you into oblivion. I will personally make sure you will never have any bastard children.  _I will shave your fucking head!_ "  
  
But of course, my threats fell on empty ears as he giggled like an infant, running down corridors in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower. I didn't know how he knew how to get there, but knowing his reputation, maybe I shouldn't be too curious. After another minute of cursing and threatening, I let myself go limp, resigning to this horrible means of transportation. Hey, said the little voice in my head, at least he has a mighty fit bum. I shook my head a little, and by the time the little voice was quiet, Black had dropped me at the door of the Ravenclaw common room.  
  
"Erm, thanks," I said slowly.  
  
He smirked. Damn his smirk!  
  
"I feel like I'm forgetting something," I said. "Have you done anything in the last hour to piss me off."  
  
"Oh probably."  
  
I frowned. "Fine. I'm yelling at you tomorrow. And anyways, how am I going to get my cane back?"  
  
"Oh, I have my ways," he promised, winking.  
  
I crossed my arms. "Fine. But just so you know, if I don't have it at the foot of my bed,  _with_  a slice of treacle tart, by tomorrow morning, I will hex something off that I am absolutely certain you want attached."  
  
"Okay, fair enough."  
  
I smiled. "Thanks Sirius. For that whole Diggory debacle."  
  
"No problem. See you tomorrow then? I'll be eagerly awaiting our yelling match."  
  
I smirked. "Nine o'clock sharp in the Great Hall sound good to you?"  
  
"Perfect."


	13. The Party: Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what did happen during that Gryffindor party? This is both Remus's and Peter's tales...

**(Remus's POV)**  
  
I sat on my bed, my friends getting ready for the party and goofing off as usual. Sirius was shirtless – again, as usual – and James was doing something inappropriate, I could tell. As they continued to do stupid shit – as usual – I pulled a book of my bedside drawer and flipped to a random page. This particular book was about all sorts of potions and charms that we wouldn't be learning until next year, or maybe not even at all, but James had tried to get me to learn some of the more dangerous ones to help with the prank he planned on pulling tonight on the Slytherins. Of course, I said no, considering that this was supposed to be a party and I wanted to have some actual fun tonight, as well as the fact that last time I did something like that, McGonagall put me in detention for three months. Filch had me clean the trophies so many times I actually had a nightmare where I kept cleaning them but they kept getting dirtier. A year afterwards. Not the kind of dream a normal sixteen year old boy would have, according to Sirius, although, considering its Sirius, I don't think you could necessarily consider him a normal teenage boy. Well, me neither if you factor in the lycanthropy. I try not to though. And anyways, except for that time of the month – and no it's not my _period_ as Sirius liked to refer to it as until about third year – I am completely normal. As I flipped through the pages of the book, I saw a picture that caught my eye. A woman was looking away from the center of the book, a large spider shaped thing on her head. As I looked at the name of the potion, I smiled. Polyjuice potion. Just as I was about to read through the ingredients, Sirius started talking.  
  
"And you Moony," he said and I snapped my head up," are you ready? You know, you might actually win your bet this year with this party."  
  
I rolled my eyes and my friends started laughing. I swear, I'm probably the worst person at making friends with actual intelligent people. Well, I guess Sirius and James _are_ really intelligent, they're just super (super!) immature.  
  
"Merlin, Peter! Just put your trainers on! It's not that hard!" Sirius said. "Oh, shut up Prongs. Just keep putting on your perfume."  
  
"It's cologne! And I didn't even say anything in the first place…" James whined.  
  
Peter snorted. "It's perfume," he said, giving Sirius a high five.  
  
I rolled my eyes at my friends again, turning back to my book.  
  
"Okay, Jordan's on music duty, we've already got the alcohol," James said, pointing at each of the four of us, "Lily Flower's got the lights –"  
  
"Shove it, Potter," Lily 'Flower' snarled.  
  
Merlin, when would that prat stop calling her by anything but her name? Did he honestly believe she would start fancying him if he never called her by the name she wanted?  
  
"Sorry, sorry. Alice got the house elves to make awesome party food, and Kendra's getting the word out. Did I miss anything?" James asked, looking around at us.  
  
"Nope!" Sirius said as he threw his arms around James and Lily's shoulders. "Everything is ready my friends! The Gryffindor party is ready for takeoff!"  
  
Sirius grinned and pushed James and Lily together before walking away. I saw both of their cheeks colour dramatically, Lily's cheeks matching her vivid hair colour. James began to stutter and Lily pretended to look at her nails, her eyes shifting nervously as James slowly began to move away.  
  
"So Evans," James said and I mentally slapped myself in the face. "Mind saving me a dance for tonight?"  
  
His quavering voice made my eyebrow go up in confusion. James was never nervous when he flirted with Lily. And strangely enough, Lily seemed nervous too. That is, until her stance stiffened and she turned on him.  
  
"I would love to, Potter," she said in a sweet voice.  
  
"Lily, don't!" Sirius cried, and my stomach dropped.  
  
"In fact, why don't I save you a dance –" Lily continued, but Sirius interrupted.  
  
"Please, he's so excited!"  
  
"– after I swim in synchronisation with the giant squid –"  
  
"Now she's started."  
  
"– and join the bloody Slytherins in killing muggleborns!"  
  
"And she's finished. Really Lily? Did you have to do it so scathingly?" Sirius asked, patting James on the back.  
  
Lily shrugged and grabbed Alice, dragging her out of the common room. James leaned into Sirius and started muttering things about Lily, Sirius smirking the entire time. Finally, Sirius walked away, heading towards Mary MacDonald, one of the other sixth year girls. They exchanged pleasantries and I turned to Peter and James.  
  
"You two have something planned for the Slytherins even if I'm not helping, right?" James grinned and I took that as a yes. "Do you need any of my help?"  
  
James smirked and came closer to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. "Does little bitty Moony want to help pull a big prank on the nasty Slytherins?"  
  
I chuckled. "Shut up you tosser. No, I'm just wondering if you need help. I'm bored and I want to do something fun tonight."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry Remus, but I only planned for one person on this expedition. And you know I plan everything meticulously. Any one thing could set my whole plan off."  
  
I rolled my eyes. James and his stupid plans. He had a nervous breakdown every single time something messed up. I swear he was going to kill himself one day if one of his 'meticulous plans' didn't go directly according to plan.  
  
"Fine," I sighed as Peter accidentally exploded a candle while he waved his wand around aimlessly.  
  
I looked up and saw Mary give Sirius a kiss and I raised my eyebrow at James. He wiggled his at me and then we both looked over at Sirius, doing the eyebrow wiggle together.  
  
"Oh shut it you tossers!" Sirius hissed at us.  
  
James ignored him and winked. "Ooh, getting something tonight, Padfoot?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "You two toss pots are such perverts. Can't you go to a party without getting wasted, shagging someone," I said, looking straight at Sirius, "or taking off your clothes?" With that, I looked straight at James.  
  
Merlin, my friends are idiots.  
  
"When I drink a little too much alcohol," James said, shrugging, "the clothes just restrict the real me. Plus, this way Lily gets to see my awesome bod and realize what she's missing out on."  
  
"I've seen your 'awesome bod' Prongs and she isn't missing much," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.  
  
James pouted. "Really?"  
  
"Nah you tosser," Sirius grinned. "She is totally missing out on all that raw manliness."  
  
James grinned, perking up as he saw Lily. He ran after her and I rolled my eyes as I heard a shout of 'Lily Pad!' followed by an angry smack. I'll say it again: Merlin, my friends are idiots.  
  
The party was going full swing, music blaring and lights flaring. I had my eyes trained on Sirius, who was dragging some poor, unsuspecting girl into an empty corridor. He looked up and I shot him a dirty look. He seemed half-sorry for it, but he didn't stop.  
  
Merlin, my friends are idiots.  
  
I was on one of the Gryffindor couches, watching the party-goers dance. Parties never had been my _thing_. Reading was my _thing_. Being alone was my _thing_. Parties? Not my _thing_. As I looked around, I saw a stunning girl in a blue dress stumble across the dance floor. I got up. Person in charge of the drunk people? Also my _thing_. I saw her stumble once more and hurried up. She took one more step and tripped, falling over onto her face. Well, almost. I quickly pulled out my wand and muttered a spell, stopping her before she could hit the ground full force. I let the spell go, letting her fall on her face, and rushed over to help pick her up.  
  
"I saw you fall," I said, helping her stand upright. "I stopped you from the biggest impact, but I'm sorry I couldn't right you."  
  
She smiled as best she could through a drunken haze. "No, no. That's fine. Thanks."  
  
I smiled back at her and led her over to the couch I had been sitting on, where a couple had quickly jumped on my seat and begun to take things to an inappropriate level. I quickly shooed them away and sat the girl down, pulling a sobering tonic from my pocket. Unscrewing the lid, I passed it to her, though she eyed me curiously.  
  
"It's a tonic," I told her. "Helps dilute the alcohol in your blood."  
  
"I've been told not to accept drinks from people I don't know."  
  
"So you don't know me now?" I asked coyly, giving her another smile.  
  
"No, I know you," she said. "You, sir, are Remus Lupin. Gryffindor and 25 percent of the group informally known as the marauders."  
  
"So why not drink it?" I asked as she gave the vial another wary look.  
  
"Because I don't know your intentions."  
  
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed, taking the vial from her hand. Winking, I brought it to my lips.  
  
"Bottoms up!"  
  
I threw back the vial and emptied the contents into my mouth, letting the liquid burn down my throat. Reaching into my pocket again and pulling out my other one, – the two tonics were _supposed_ to be for Sirius and James, but I doubt they would ever take them – I handed it to the girl and she opened it. Wincing at the putrid smell, she gave me one last look before downing the bottle, pinching her nose with one hand. She gagged at the taste and began to choke, so I began to rub her back until she managed to breathe properly again.  
  
"Is it supposed to burn?" She asked, her voice raspy.  
  
"Yeah," I said, coughing.  
  
I knew she was familiar; I just couldn't place my finger on her name. Carrie? No…  
  
"Is my head supposed to be spinning?"  
  
"Yeah, that'll go away in a few minutes," I chuckled. "The music doesn't help, does it?"  
  
She laughed too. "Not in the slightest!"  
  
Carisa? No… Callie? No… Charlotte? No… Car – Wait! Charlotte! That's it!  
  
"So, Charlotte, I've seen you around Hogwarts. You don't seem like the party type."  
  
"It's Charlie," she growled, scowling. "And I'm not. My friend Alexandra wanted to come after an intense break up with _Diggory_. And I was dragged along for company, wearing this ridiculous thing Kendra calls a dress."  
  
"Well, sorry Charlie. And to be honest, maybe it's a good thing Diggory ended things. He isn't much of a good person, is he? And I quite like the dress."  
  
And I did. Her blue eyes were magnified in colour by the iciness of the dress, and it didn't hurt that it was form fitting. Remind me to thank Kendra for her slag clothes, later. Charlie looked at the ground and blushed and I felt heat rising to my own cheeks as she put her hand on the back of her neck.  
  
"Um, thanks," she said, giving me a smile.  
  
We were on my bed, the curtains drawn. I was on top of her, her hands in my hair and on my face. Mine were on her waist and our lips were attacking each other. She felt so good to have in my arms. He hands slowly ran down my chest and I suppressed a shiver as I pulled my hands up her stomach. Lightly touching the edge of her bra, I heard Charlie sigh and suddenly, her leg was locked around my waist, pulling me closer. I hesitated for a second before kissing her even deeper.  
  
I woke up to see that my bed was empty. No one was beside me. Sitting straight up, I looked around to see if there was anything that may tell me it wasn't a dream. That _she_ wasn't a dream, but there was nothing. And for some reason, I was about 80% it _was_ a dream. I let my head drop down to my pillow again and sighed. As I breathed in, I could still smell the faint scent of her perfume. Hugging the pillow, I let her scent envelop me as I fell back to sleep.  
  
 **(Peter's POV)**  
  
I was looking through my pairs of trainers, trying to decide which ones to put on. That pair seemed too fancy. Those seemed too beat up. Those weren't mine. Seriously, James and Sirius needed to stop getting me to do their laundry. Well, they needed to stop getting me to bring their dirty clothes to the house elves. But I knew they wouldn't. And I wouldn't stop doing it if they didn't stop asking. It was a miracle, to say the least, that both of them had become my friends. Remus too, I guess. Before Hogwarts, my cousins and such would beat the crap out of me for being the pudgy little boy I was. Since James, Sirius and Remus became my friends, my relatives seemed to think I wasn't the type of social reject I actually was. But since they became my friends, I couldn't say no to them. If they needed me to go down to the kitchens in the middle of the night, I'd do it. If they needed me to pull a prank on the Slytherins while they had a good time at a party, I'd do it. I heard James and Sirius laugh so I put my head up and began to chuckle too, putting my head back down to look at my trainers.  
  
"Merlin, Peter!" I heard Sirius say and I snapped my head up to look at him. "Just put your trainers on! It's not that hard! Oh, shut up Prongs. Just keep putting on your perfume."  
  
James frowned and whined, "It's cologne! And I didn't even say anything in the first place…"  
  
"It's perfume," I snorted.  
  
Sirius laughed and gave me a high five. A happy sensation pulsed through my stomach at his appreciation.  
  
"Okay, Jordan's on music duty, we've already got the alcohol, Lily Flower's got the lights –"  
  
"Shove it, Potter," Lily interrupted, sending James a death glare.  
  
"Sorry, sorry. Alice got the house elves to make awesome party food, and Kendra's getting the word out," James continued. "Did I miss anything?"  
  
Sirius grinned and threw his arms around James and Lily. "Nope! Everything is ready my friends! The Gryffindor party is ready for takeoff!"  
  
He grinned and walked away, pushing James and Lily together in the process. I rolled my eyes as they both began to blush. James's stupid fascination with Lily always got on my nerves. I don't think anyone knew, but the reason James went after Lily was because in first year, I said she was very pretty, and that I thought she might actually say yes if I asked her out. James had said that a girl like her would never be my girlfriend and decided to get her himself.  
  
"So Evans," James said. "Mind saving me a dance for tonight?"  
  
I rolled my eyes again and tuned out. I looked around the common room until I saw Allison, a pretty fifth year girl, looking at me. I smiled and she smiled back. Allison had taken to watching me from across the common room and sitting near us at the Gryffindor table, but I never had the courage to talk to her. I gave her one last glance and looked back at my friends. I saw Remus and James, so I turned to scan the common room, looking for Sirius. He was talking to Mary MacDonald, which made me roll my eyes again. That bitch had turned me down in fourth year when I asked her to go to a Gryffindor party. Of course, as I saw now, she had no qualms about giving Sirius a nice kiss. They weren't even dating and she was ready to give him freaking mouth to mouth. I took out my wand and began twirling it in my fingers, enjoying the slight hum of power in my hand. As Sirius gave Mary a last goodbye, my wand slipped and I tried to catch it, accidentally pointing it violently at a candle. It exploded and Sirius walked back towards us. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, my friends annoyed the shit out of me.  
  
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit!  
  
"Come on, James. Where are you?" I muttered as I raced through the common room. "Have you seen James? James Potter? Git with the messy hair?" I asked one girl, but she shook her head no.  
  
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh SHIT!  
  
"Have you seen James Potter?" I asked someone else. They said no. "Have you seen James Potter? James Potter. Has anyone seen him?"  
  
But no one had. I began to panic, stumbling through the common room. Finally, I saw Sirius sitting on one of the couches, his head back. I ran over and began shaking him, my panic closing up my throat. He looked up and grinned when he first saw me.  
  
"Wormtail, mate. What's shaking my little mousy friend?"  
  
"The prank," I said, breathing in deeply as Sirius jumped out, "well, it didn't go so well."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well," I said, trying to regulate my breathing, "I tried to enchant a bucket of slime to hit some of the Slytherins when they tried to get into their Common Room, and then a whole bunch of feathers would hit them, and then I would cast a fast drying charm on them, effectively making them into chickens, right? Well, thing is, I got some of the girls and their boyfriends are livid and they might be coming up to the Gryffindor Common Room as we speak."  
  
"How do they know where the Gryffindor Common Room?"  
  
"Oh, they don't. But they sort of followed me up until the fifth floor. They're canvassing the area as we speak, trying to find it."  
  
Sirius swore and grabbed me, pulling me out of the common room. I stumbled behind him before he finally let me go, turning to face me.  
  
"So where are they right now?" He asked.  
  
I fumbled with the map in my pocket before pulling it out and unraveling it. I looked through quickly, finally finding the footprints of the Slytherins. Sirius swore and ran off. I quickly shoved the map back into my pocket and followed, although I wasn't quite as fast as him. I tried to follow him as he raced down some stairs, but when he suddenly stopped on the last one, I slipped and fell into him, knocking us both to the ground and making a large noise. Sirius tried to grab his wand, but as soon as he touched it, it was ripped from his grasp. I looked up and saw a smattering of Slytherins in front of us, a few that I recognized. Avery, one of the Slytherins who made it his priority to trip me whenever I passed him in the corridors, had his wand pointed at Sirius, a sneer on his face.  
  
"Well look what we have here. A blood traitor and a squeaky little dough ball of a Gryffindor," Avery said harshly. "Seems like our lucky day boys."  
  
I tried to get out my wand from my pocket, but Sirius stopped me carefully. I looked at him under his arm but he gave a small shake of his head. Avery began to inch closer, two of his cronies behind him. I think their names were Lobster and Gargoyle? I never had much tolerance for the Slytherins. One of them grabbed me and yanked me up while the other got a hold of Sirius. Sirius shrugged the bigger boy's hands off him though, and looked at the boy I knew to be his brother.  
  
"Don't touch me, you incompetent dickhead," Sirius said coldly. "I don't want my shirt to get fucked up. Silk, you know."  
  
I knew for a fact that was a lie. I had just gotten that shirt laundered not two days ago and it was definitely cotton. Suddenly, Avery lunged forward so his face was directly in front of Sirius's.  
  
"Scared, Black?" He asked haughtily.  
  
"Not really," Sirius replied, "but your breath smells like a hippogriff's arse."  
  
I started laughing but the big brute holding me punched me in the stomach. Sirius turned to us and tsked.  
  
"Use your words Goyle. Not your fists," he said, waggling his finger.  
  
So that's what the brute's name was! The other one, the one holding Sirius, cranked his arms even further behind his back and I saw him wince a little.  
  
Avery backed away. "Crabbe, Goyle, where should we put these Gryffindor scumbags?" The idiots looked at each other and then back at Avery who rolled his eyes. "Incompetents., Snape, Nott, Black –"  
  
"Yes?" Sirius interrupted, batting his eyelashes 'seductively.'  
  
I saw Crabbe pull Sirius's arms back further, his wince pronounced. The others crowded around Avery as they began to mutter and I saw Sirius pull some sort of seduction shit on Crabbe – not that it worked. Finally, Avery and his cronies turned back to us. Avery opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly, clacking footsteps could be heard in the corridor. We all turned in the direction of the noise.  
  
"McGonagall," Avery and Black whispered in sync.  
  
Goyle released me and Crabbe released Sirius, all of us sprinting down the corridor. I saw Sirius hesitate as he got to a stairway that would lead us to the Gryffindor Common Room, but then veer off in the other direction as he glanced at the Slytherins. Sirius began to race ahead, but as he turned around a corner, I saw Avery leap at him. I heard a thunk and by the time I skidded around the corner, I saw both of them on the ground, Avery's hands on Sirius's ankles. I stopped and then felt big hands wrap around me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Goyle, his expression grim – unless that was his normal expression, which isn't all that hard to doubt. I saw Sirius try and brush his hair out of his eyes – a natural habit of his – but his hands stayed together. They must have been charmed together, I thought. Then I saw Avery, who was looking at Sirius's brother, a curious look on his face.  
  
"What is it Regulus?"  
  
"I don't know. It sounds like someone's having a good fuck, but I can't be sure."  
  
Sirius's brother was stiff, his voice cordial. At the use of the word fuck, Sirius had snorted and his brother had given him a disgusted look. Avery just walked over to the door and opened it sharply, revealing a girl and a boy in the broom cupboard. Avery smirked.  
  
"Ooh, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw in a broom cupboard. If that's not a scandal I don't know what is."  
  
As the girl hid her face, the boy grabbed her hands and I recognized Amos Diggory, a popular Hufflepuff in our year. I knew James and Sirius didn't like him because of quidditch, but he always seemed nice enough to me.  
  
"Excuse me boys," Diggory said, smiling, "but could you please let us out? I don't think we'll be continuing if you keep staring at us."  
  
The girl started giggling and I saw Sirius smile a little as the Slytherins got out of the way. As the couple passed us, the girl looked at Sirius and a drunken smile appeared.  
  
"Mystery man!" She shrieked. "I thought you were Gryffindor but now you're hanging out with Slytherins. You m'friend, are a liar."  
  
I saw Diggory shoot Sirius a harsh glare, but as Goyle let me go, I tried to pull my hands apart, but they were charmed as well. I cursed silently but saw Sirius looking at me. I kept my gaze away in case the Slytherins looked over.  
  
"Wormtail," he hissed, and against my better judgment, I looked over. "Wormtail, get over here."  
  
I moved slowly, trying not to draw the Slytherins' attention. As I got closer, I felt his hand slide into my pocket and pull out my wand, severing the charm on my hands and then letting me do so for him. As soon as we were free, we began inching our way to the corner. I raced around it but Sirius stopped me quickly, taking my wand in the process.  
  
"Accio Sirius Black's awesome wand," he muttered.  
  
The wand came whizzing over to us and he gave me back mine, sending a flurry of stunners at the Slytherins. I sent some too, and once they were all on the ground, we raced away, only stopping at the portrait hole. Our giggling subsided as I looked at him.  
  
"Mystery man?" I asked.  
  
"I almost hooked up with her," he said, rolling his eyes. "But she ran off before I got the chance to snog her."  
  
"Sirius Black was _rejected_?!"  
  
"Shh! Don't say anything. James will have a field day. If anyone asks, I found a better shag and you were the one who got caught and found them."  
  
"I don't get why you care. One girl rejected you. There will be more."  
  
"Hopefully not," Sirius said, grinding his teeth.  
  
We started up the staircase to our dormitory, but just as we were about to enter our dorm, the door opened and Lily burst out.  
  
"Whoa there Evans!" Sirius said, stopping her. "Where's the fire? What did he do now?"  
  
Of course. James did something wrong again, that bastard.  
  
"Um, James and Kendra," Lily stammered distractedly. "I guess. Feelings. Like him? But he did that."  
  
With that she ran away. I looked at Sirius and he shrugged. Women. I walked into my dorm behind Sirius and walked over to my four-poster. I quickly changed into my pajamas and got into my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. Closing my eyes, I listened to the breathing of my dorm mates until I fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hope you liked it! Short chapter, I know, but these parts of the story don't really appeal to me. Anyways, I have one more chapter completely ready and I'm working on another. And by the way, fifteenth chapter has something big coming. Get ready! *Wink wink*


	14. Middle Names, Regulus and My Life Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Screaming at people in the Great Hall? No problem. Screaming at people in the library? Let's go for it. Screaming at people on the staircase? I'm good with that. Shutting up when someone tries to show me something personal? Not my strong point. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks.

**(Lexi's POV)**  
  
"Sirius whatever-your-middle-name-is Black!" I shrieked, limping into the Great Hall.  
  
Thankfully it was semi-empty. His head shot up from the Gryffindor table, his mouth stuffed with what appeared to be bacon and pancakes. My walking cane made a clicking sound, the colour red blazing like a fire.  
  
"It's Orion, by the way," He said, his mouth still full. "Although, I'm still figuring out James's. Want to help? You seem very good at figuring those out. And I assume you remembered what you wanted to yell at me about?"  
  
"Um, yes? You fucking moron! Why the hell would you hook up with not one, but _two_ Ravenclaw girls who just happen to share the same dormitory?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Fuck's right, _oh_! Do you know what mayhem the common room went through? I gave up my bed because the two girls didn't want to look at each other."  
  
Okay, that was sort of false. Amelia's roommate Eva is a slag, so it didn't come as a surprise she had snogged Black, but it wasn't because the two couldn't stand to see each other that Amelia slept in my four-poster. After getting back to my dorm to see Amelia in hysterics, and Zoe and Sydney doing their best to help her, I convinced her that it would be no problem for her to sleep in my bed. I shared with Charlie, which wasn't so bad except for the rude wakeup call this morning in the form of a kick in the rear. This, of course, led to me landing on the floor, and needless to say, I was not in the best of moods.  
  
"Could you not keep your womanizing habits in check for one night? Or at least have the decency to hook up with someone who has no morals and doesn't think you _actually_ like them, like Kendra for example."  
  
"Hey! I resent that."  
  
I turned to see Kendra sitting with Lily and eating breakfast.  
  
"Sorry, Kendra," I said, wincing."  
  
She gave me an indignant look. I turned back to Black to see him smirking. Giving him the middle finger, I snagged a piece of his bacon, ignoring his cry.  
  
"Anyways, if I ever see you go anywhere near Amelia – the red-headed one – again, I will cut off your manhood and then force feed it to you."  
  
"Ooh, jealous there Ace?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
I bared my teeth at him. "You wish."  
  
"Oh that I do! My utmost desire is to have you pine for me, Ace. It is all I ever wanted in life. Your undying love is what drives me in life."  
  
I smirked at him, taking a goblet of pumpkin juice in my hand. Taking a sip, I raised my eyebrow suggestively. He gave me his own patented smirk, the rest of the marauders looking at me with wary expressions. As I lowered the goblet, I reached across the table and put my hand on his.  
  
"Oh Black, your hair, your smile, your wit. There is only one thing I could possibly think of doing to you right now."  
  
Then I dumped the goblet of pumpkin juice on his head. He spluttered as orange liquid seeped into his hair and shirt, staining his face with it. I gave a lifeless laugh and limped away.  
  
"I see you got your walking stick back," he yelled to my back.  
  
I ignored him and stomped over to the Ravenclaw table, dropping down beside Charlie, Carter and a stricken Amelia. Nodding in acknowledgement, I shoved a piece of bacon in my mouth savagely. Ah, bacon. Even when no one else is there to comfort me, you are. I began to idly curse, muttering swears under my breath. Amelia kept her eyes on her bowl of cereal while Charlie kept falling asleep at her pancakes.  
  
Carter on the other hand, was freaking out over some quidditch plan he wanted us to try out for the next match (which was months away), the diagrams and drawings scattered along the table. I ripped another piece of bacon apart with my teeth before pouring myself a bowl of what Charlie calls 'sugar shit' but what I call 'cereal heaven.' After about a minute of my muttered cursing, I finally felt someone hit me on the shoulder. I looked up and saw Frank.  
  
"Frank Longbottom, Gryffindor extraordinaire," I exclaimed half-heartedly. "How's it going?"  
  
"Well, I just wanted to know, when are we going to get together to practice those non-verbal spells? I mean, I get that you're still a little injured, but if it could be anytime soon, that would be great."  
  
I smiled up at him. "Yeah, soon would be best for me too. I have quidditch practice tonight, but seeing as I can't really do much, maybe you could come watch with me and we can look over the theoretical side of it, and then after we can actually do it."  
  
Frank smiled, ruffling his brown hair. "Sure. Meet you at seven on the pitch then?"  
  
"Practice starts at six-thirty, so I'll start working on it a little before you get there if that's okay."  
  
"Better than okay," Frank said. "I'd rather have you understand everything and explain it to me than try and figure it out together."  
  
"Oh bugger off, you minger," I laughed. "Go on, get to breakfast. And bring me some treacle tart later, okay?"  
  
"Haven't you had enough treacle tart?"  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"Well," Frank chuckled, "didn't you find some at the edge of your bed this morning?"  
  
"Now Frank Longbottom, however did you know that?"  
  
He winked. "I bunk with the marauders."  
  
"Oh yeah," I said, rolling my eyes. "I forgot. You're so much better than any of them."  
  
"Oh! Miss James you make me swoon!"  
  
"Mr. Longbottom you make my heart flutter yourself."  
  
"And don't you forget it!"  
  
I rolled my eyes again. "Okay, so I'll see you at the pitch at seven o'clock sharp?"  
  
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!"  
  
I laughed as he tipped an imaginary hat in my direction and skipped backwards away from the Ravenclaw table, kicking his legs out like a leprechaun. Frank's happiness was contagious and I even saw Amelia smile a little. Turning back to my food, I poured milk into my bowl and began eating. Taking a drink from my apple juice and fruit punch mix (old habits die hard – I've done that since I was a little girl), I looked up to see Carter staring at me strangely.  
  
"Want to take a picture Carter?"  
  
"You can't practice."  
  
"I know. That's why I'm walking with a cane. I've been hurt."  
  
"You can't practice."  
  
I rolled my eyes, but Charlie said something before I could. "Yeah Carter, I'm pretty sure that's what she's been saying. Merlin, have you been drinking fire whiskey? I'm not ever going to kiss you if you become a drunk."  
  
"You can't practice."  
  
"Carter!" We both shrieked at the same time.  
  
His glazed eyes suddenly closed. He seemed to be in intense thinking mode. I stared at Charlie and she stared back, both of us obviously wondering what the hell was going on with Carter. Even Amelia saw something was up and she looked at him quizzically. Suddenly, his eyes shot open.  
  
"You can't practice."  
  
"I get it Carter, I can't practice. What's up?"  
  
He ignored me and began getting together all of his diagrams and paraphernalia from the table, tucking them under his arm as his grabbed a piece of toast from his plate and rushed off.  
  
"Carter!" Charlie screamed after him. "Carter, we were supposed to… oh what's the use?" Her voice dwindled off for the last few words and she propped her head up with her hand. "My boyfriend is a useless piece of crap."  
  
"You were supposed to go out today?"  
  
"Just to take a walk around Hogsmeade. We were supposed to talk about… things."  
  
"About what happened the last time?"  
  
Her cheeks coloured and she gave a small nod. Amelia looked at us, the question clear on her face, but I shook my head imperceptibly, silently trying to tell her that I would tell her later. As Charlie viciously attacked the last piece of toast on her plate, I took another swig of my drink and set the empty cup on the table.  
  
"Okay, I have to finish some things up since I missed so much class, but see you later, eh? Be in the library if you need me."  
  
Charlie nodded, her eyes dark, while Amelia gave me a pleading look of desperation. Obviously, a steaming mad Charlie wasn't something she fancied being around.  
  
"Amelia, you needed help with your Charms paper, right?" I asked, earning me a grateful smile.  
  
Amelia nodded, getting up from the table and briskly walking away from Charlie to get around the table to meet me. I giggled and Charlie looked up. As I gestured at Amelia – who now looked like a frightened kitten – Charlie caught on and smiled too. I gave her a wink and walked away, hooking arms with Amelia and turning her around as she got closer.  
  
I dragged her back to my dormitory to get my book bag, all the while listening to her idle chatter about how Ray Davies had asked her to Hogsmeade this morning, after allegedly hearing she was a good snog, and how Amy Warwick agreed after Amelia herself declined. As we got to the library, I nodded at Madame Pince and she gave me a tight-lipped purse of her lips – which is the best greeting she's ever given anyone, so who am I to complain?  
  
I made my way to my favourite table that looked over the quidditch pitch and dropped down onto one of the plush chairs. Amelia sat down across from me and pulled out some parchment, some ink and a quill. As she started scribbling down whatever it was that she was working on, which I was only 20% sure _was_ Charms, I stared out the window, longing to get back on my broomstick and fly around the pitch.  
  
Bloody limp. I still had two weeks until the Healers allowed me to do anything strenuous, whether I was using my legs or not. I sighed and turned back to the task at hand, flipping through my potions textbook looking for the Draught of Living Death. As I finally got to the page that contained the information on it, I heard a thump and turned sharply. A tallish boy with jet black hair was turned away from us, his back tensed as he tried desperately to balance a stack of books in his right hand and a falling vase the size of a hippogriff in his left. I quickly brandished my wand.  
  
" _Wingardium Leviosa_." I said quietly, the vase hovering in midair. I quickly ran over and placed the vase back on the pedestal it had fallen off of. "Might want to be a little more careful there," I whispered cheerfully.  
  
The boy turned to me and I almost gasped. His eyes were gray, exactly like someone I will _not_ mention (cough cough, Black). He gave me a look and I felt my cheeks colour.  
  
"Sorry, you look like someone I know," I said sheepishly.  
  
"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Let me guess, you're part of Sirius Black's immense fan club?"  
  
I snorted. "He wishes."  
  
The boy gave me a curious glance. "You _don't_ think Sirius Black is Merlin's gift to woman kind?"  
  
"Oh please, don't make me laugh. That prick is such a pain in my arse."  
  
The boy smiled. "Glad to know not everyone loves my brother."  
  
Realization struck me and I slapped my forehead with my palm. "You're Regulus Black! I knew you looked similar to him." Regulus smiled and nodded. "So what are you doing here Regulus? Studying for a test? Writing a paper that was due last week?"  
  
"Finishing some extra credit for Transfiguration. For the life of me, I can't seem to quite get the grasp of it, though McGonagall's pretty nice about letting me do extra work to keep up with the rest of the class."  
  
"That's cool. Were you coming over to sit at the table?"  
  
"Um yeah, that's where I usually sit, but I saw you two, so I was turning to go. That's when I hit the vase."  
  
"Well, it's not as if we're doing anything particularly interesting, but if you want, you can stay. There _are_ two other chairs."  
  
Regulus smiled at me. "Thanks."  
  
I returned the smile and walked back to the table, sitting down with Regulus dropping down next to me. I saw Amelia's gaze flicker up and her cheeks colour when she saw who the newcomer was. Well wasn't that interesting. I smiled and turned back to my work, glancing up every so often as Regulus asked Amelia question after question about Transfiguration – which I knew was her best subject. Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere change and Regulus tense dramatically beside me. I looked up and saw Black – as in Sirius (heretofore referred to as Pain In My Arse or PIMA) – standing there, staring lividly at Regulus.  
  
"What are you doing here, Reg?" PIMA spat out acidly.  
  
Regulus's face had turned stony, the polite, thankfully boy from before gone. "Studying. That is what a library is for, _Sirius_. Not for shagging like you would have hoped."  
  
The tension could have been cut with a rusty spoon. I looked from one brother to the other, fear running through my veins. No one talked for half a minute before I finally spoke up.  
  
" _Sirius_ ," – oh Merlin it pains me to say his given name – "what are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to apologize for what I did to poor Ally last night." I rolled my eyes as Amelia's own brown ones filled with tears. "That was right out of order, and I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me Ally?"  
  
Amelia began to pack up her stuff, giving Regulus a glance or two, but otherwise looking determinedly at the table. When her bag was packed, she turned to PIMA (yeah, that was hard to do, so heretofore using his last name), and gave a small shake of her head. Then, she ran out of the library. Regulus gave Black (okay, okay, I'll call him Sirius), a dirty look and gathered his own things.  
  
"Wow Sirius, I thought you were thick, but that was harsh," he said stiffly, then turning to me. "Thanks for letting me sit with you…"  
  
"Lexi. Lexi James."  
  
"Well thanks then, Lexi James. See you later?"  
  
I nodded and he sprinted off after Amelia. I turned to Black and began hitting him with my walking cane, it taking a reddish colour again, although it had been green before. Merlin, this boy made me mad! He began swearing under his breath, careful not to be too loud or Madame Pince would have us thrown out.  
  
"You arse!" I shrieked. "Her name is _Amelia_! Ally isn't even close. And what do you care if Regulus is here? Merlin! Black, you can't get mad if your brother hangs out with people. He is a human being."  
  
Black finally caught my wrist that held the cane and his grip tightened. "Okay, first, I feel really bad about calling her Ally. Could you please apologize for me? I don't think she'll ever want to be around me again." Although my expression made it clear I wasn't going to, he continued. "Second, I can get mad if my brother hangs out with anyone I don't think he would. He has ulterior motives."  
  
"Yeah, because you've _never_ studied with someone you thought was a nice person. Oh wait! You fucking don't! You just shag them in the library. Merlin, I think I like Regulus better."  
  
I heard Madame Pince's shuffling from behind the endless number of bookshelves and quickly packed up my stuff.  
  
"So _he_ gets to be called Regulus but you still call me Black? How is that fair. You've only known him for five minutes!"  
  
"Doesn't matter. He's nice, so I'll call him by his given name."  
  
With that, I turned around and walked away and out of the library before Madame Pince could throw me out. I heard Black's footsteps behind me and tried to hurry up, although with his long legs and my obvious limp, he caught up to me very fast.  
  
"Oh come on. He's a Slytherin. You can't possibly think him a good person."  
  
I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Better than you."  
  
"Look, you can't seriously get mad at me for being mad that he's hanging out with you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because he's my family. And you already know I'm not overly fond of my family."  
  
"Why not? I've heard that they're pretty big into keeping the family name 'pure,' and while that's bad, I haven't heard anything to suggest they're giant supporters of You-Know-Who, but you act as if they're vermin."  
  
"They're worse than vermin," he scoffed. "And maybe if you told me what happened with your family, I might tell you what happened with mine."  
  
"Yeah right. If anyone's giving up information first, it'll be you."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Because how should I know it's worth my story?"  
  
He stopped me, putting his hand on my arm and pulling me over to a small classroom. Opening the door, he checked to make sure it was clear and then dragged me into it. I gave him a look but he just closed the classroom door behind us and began to take off his shirt.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I asked.  
  
He gave me a sad smile. "Showing you how bad my story gets."  
  
Then he took off his shirt (and yes I did see his abs and I _may_ have ogled, but come one, it's Sirius Fucking Black – he's bloody hot) and turned his back to me. I gasped and my hands flew up to cup my mouth. Running across his back were thin white lines that formed words in some places. I could easily read 'traitor,' 'blasphemy' and 'disgraceful.' I took a hesitant step forward and then took three more so I was inches away from him. He didn't turn around but he did tense when I began to trace the small scars that ran from his shoulders to his shoulder blades.  
  
"Sirius," I whispered. "Sirius, I'm so–"  
  
" _Don't_ say you're sorry. Just don't."  
  
"I'm sorry," I said, completely disregarding his demand. I threaded my arms around his waist under his warm ones and lay my forehead against his (very much shirtless) back. "I'm so sorry."  
  
I kissed one of the scars and he relaxed, turning but keeping my arms at his waist. He put his arms around me and held onto me as I slowly traced one of the words with my fingers.  
  
"You called me Sirius," he finally said, pulling away.  
  
"I've called you that before."  
  
He smiled, looking into my green eyes with his grey ones. "I know, I just wanted to point it out."  
  
I smiled back at him and he pulled one hand up to cup my cheek, his eyes still on mine. I saw them flicker to my lips for the briefest of seconds but they quickly returned, his gaze now a smolder. He began to lean in and his forehead touched mine. I took a shaky breath in and he stopped, his nose less than a centimeter away from mine. He kept his gaze trained on mine as he leaned in once more and –  
  
There was a knock on the window. I let out a shriek, tumbling over a chair that had been behind me. I felt my neck snap back and my head hit the hard floor, although not that hard. I scrambled up and assumed a Kung Fu-like position. Black gave me a look and I shrugged, straightening up. Looking at the window, I saw a familiar brown owl with white spots along its wings, a piece or parchment held in its beak. I opened the window and the owl hopped in, dropping the parchment into my hand. I opened it, my heart stopping at the messy scrawl inside.  
  
' _Dria,_  
  
 _I've_ _started to move in, but_ _I'm_ _very confused as to where everything is supposed to go. And where is my bedroom?_  
  
I may have cursed very loudly. Actually, I certainly did curse very loudly. Black gave me a look but I waved him off.  
  
"Uh, speaking of families… I have to go. And you," I said, gesturing to his (very much naked) chest, "should probably put on a shirt."  
  
I turned to go, my hand picking up my cane from the table it was leaning on. I let my bag bounce off my hip as I hurried out of the classroom, Black's footsteps reverberating behind me. My limp became more pronounced as I walked faster, hurrying to get to Hogsmeade. I began to walk down the staircase in the Great Hall when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Black, his expression worried.  
  
"What's happened?" He asked, almost sounding genuine.  
  
"Um, my sister needs help with something in Hogsmeade. Not really important. Have to go."  
  
"What does she need help with?"  
  
I searched my mind for a good reason. "Um, just stuff. Now can I go? I can't walk properly anyways and this stupid fucking bag isn't fucking helping."  
  
With that, I took off my book bag and threw it down the steps, wincing as I heard the ink bottle inside break all over my books.  
  
"Damn!" I shrieked, making a small second year topple over in surprise.  
  
Black rushed down the stairs and grabbed my bag, darting around the other students to get back to me. He held my book bag out to me but I shook my head.  
  
"I can't deal with this right now. Just throw the bag out or something and I'll figure something out later. I really have to go."  
  
Hey," he said, grabbing my arm as I tried to get past him again. "I can clean it up. I heard the ink bottle break and I can fix that. Just tell me what's up. You look like you're about to strangle someone."  
  
"Well considering my sister's about to move into my flat share, ruin my life and kick me out of my room, I have the right to strangle someone."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You have a flat share?"  
  
I gave Black a look. "Look, if you really want to help with my bag, I would be really grateful, but I have to go. See you later."  
  
With that, I pushed past him and limped down the stairs as fast as I could.  
  
  
I walked through Hogsmeade swiftly, my cane slipping every so often on the ice. Because of my hurried exit from Hogwarts, I had left all and every single one of my jumpers in my dormitory, along with my coat, leaving me to shiver in the cold December air. But I walked briskly, hurrying as fast as I could, until I heard a whizzing that reminded me of someone on a broomstick. I, along with everyone else on the path, looked up and I smiled as I saw Black circling around on his broomstick. As he got closer to the ground and dropped down, I wiped the smile off my face and gave him a stony glare.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked, continue my walk.  
  
He smiled cheekily. "Looking for you. Your bag is clean and put back into your dormitory, and I brought you this."  
  
He handed me his jumper that I still hadn't given back and a large furry coat that I recognized as Charlie's.  
  
"First, how did you get my bag back into my dorm? And how did you get my cane and treacle tart there this morning anyways? Second, thanks."  
  
I took the jumper and put it on, shrugging into the coat right after. Giving him a thankful smile, I hurried up, walking past The Three Broomsticks. Black followed me, broomstick in hand.  
  
"So, you gonna tell me what this is about?"  
  
I sighed and rolled my eyes, trying to avoid large patches of ice. "Why should I?"  
  
"Um, maybe because I showed you the scars on my back? You know, I've never showed anyone but the guys in my dorm. And that's only because I wouldn't have been able to hide them anyways."  
  
I sighed, colour rising to my cheeks as I remembered the sight of them (and incidentally his naked chest because _damn_ , that boy is fit). "Fine. You really want to know?"  
  
He nodded enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes and he smirked.  
  
"Whatever. It's not a happy story."  
  
He grabbed my hand and began stroking it lightly with his thumb before I snatched it away. "Well, you're not always a happy girl."  
  
"Merlin, you're cheesy," I said, rolling my eyes. "Anyways, the saga of Alexandra James starts a long time ago when I was like two."  
  
" _Like_ two or two? This is a big deal you know," Black interrupted.  
  
I gave him a death glare and his smirk dropped. "When I about two years old, my mum left us. One day she was there and the next she wasn't. My sister, Cami, who is seven years older than me, so she was nine back then, was really messed up about it. But my dad got really messed up. He started drinking. As a muggle, he couldn't cope with my sister's magic, and he started lashing out at her. She looks exactly like my mum, so I guess that triggered something for him. He would drink and then lash out at her.  
  
"Cami was only nine years old. She didn't realize that the drinking wasn't normal so she didn't tell anyone, it wouldn't matter. Well Cami went off to Hogwarts and I was left alone with him. He never hit either of us though," I said at Black's horrified expression. "He never hit us. Whenever Cami would come home from Hogwarts though he would swear and curse at our mother, telling us that if we ever did what she did he'd make us pay for it. He would get really drunk and one Christmas night, when I was seven, Cami took me out to see the lights.  
  
"When we got back, he went mental, throwing things and swearing at her. He threw the refrigerator onto the floor and it just barely missed me. Then he went into his den where his whiskey was and that was the last time I saw him. That night I went to sleep crying and when I woke up, Cami had packed all of my stuff into a bag. The presents from under the tree were in another bag and all of Cami's stuff was in a third.  
  
"Undetectable extension charm, I think. She stole my dad's car – that's a muggle mode of transportation – and drove out into the middle of nowhere and I saw this old man standing there, waiting for us. He had a really long beard, so when Cami got me out of the car, I called him Funny Bearded Man. It was actually Dumbledore, which is embarrassing to this day. But anyways, Dumbledore brought us to my aunt's house. My aunt was my dad's sister, so she knew a little bit about magic, but not much. Her children were younger than us and they were all little brats, but we had nowhere else to go.  
  
"We stayed there for a while, until Cami graduated from Hogwarts. By that point, she left and found herself an apartment and I went off to Hogwarts. She wrote every so often, helping me through everything, but then one summer, she stopped communicating. I got really scared, and then my aunt got a visit from the police saying my dad had killed himself. Two weeks later, Cami showed up at my aunt's doorstep. Of course, my aunt couldn't turn her away, so she stayed with me for the next few weeks. And then one day I was at home – well, my aunt's home – and the phone rang – and that's a sort of muggle communication," I said at his confused expression. "And it was my sister and she told me she was sorry. I asked her where she was and she told me she was where it all started.  
  
"I had my aunt drive me back to my dad's house as fast as she could, but it was still a 20 minute drive. When we got there I broke down the front door and rushed in and she was there, just lying there in the kitchen, blood everywhere and a large kitchen knife next to her body. I had my aunt call the hospital, but it took them a while to get an ambulance out to the house. Even then, the bleeding wouldn't stop. She had charmed the knife blade. Apparently it was a habit for her to cut herself, but this time she just wanted it to stop. I tried to stop the bleeding, but there was so much blood. There was just so much of it. So… much… blood. It was everywhere…"  
  
I trailed off, my breathing starting to get laboured. My vision started to go red and I saw the scene again. My sister on the ground, lying in a blood puddle. So much blood…  
  
"Are you okay?" Black asked quietly.  
  
I looked at him, the memory fading away. "Yeah, I'm okay." I wiped a tear off my cheek and kept walking – or should I say limping. "Anyways, that summer my aunt kept me close, not letting me out of her sight. I was fourteen and she wouldn't even let me make a sandwich without supervision. I couldn't go anywhere alone and if I was in the bathroom for more than five minutes she would threaten to break down the door, just in case I was trying to kill myself.  
  
"I finally had enough after she took all the razors in the house away. I mean, a girl has to shave her legs right?" I gave a small giggle, letting the tears fall freely down my face now. "So when I got back to Hogwarts, I talked to Dumbledore. He realized I would run away if he didn't do something so he found a flat in Hogsmeade for me, a flat that was shared with an adult witch, so she could keep an eye on me when I went back. Within a week all my stuff was there and after that, I never went back to my aunt's or my dad's.  
  
"Cami went to St. Mungo's when the muggle hospital couldn't cure her magically-inflicted wounds. That was two years ago. And now, Cami's out and apparently she's moving in with me. And I don't think I'll be able to handle living with her. Since I left my aunt's, I haven't had to think about my family, and now, she'll always be a constant reminder about how fucked up it is. That and the fact that she's such a fucking burden what with her suicide attempt."  
  
I stopped talking as my flat came into view. I started walking faster, ignoring the fact that a large patch of ice was directly in front of the steps leading up to my flat. As I started walking faster, my cane slipped on the icy ground, along with my right foot. I went flying, but then I felt warm hands grab me from around my waist. They set me upright and I turned to see Black, his broomstick disregarded on the ground a few feet away.  
  
"Thanks," I said uncomfortably.  
  
"Yeah, it's icy. You might want to be careful," he said smirking. "As for your sister, she seemed very concerned for you in St. Mungo's before you woke up. Give her some credit. Now, is this your flat?" I nodded and his grin widened. "Can I come up and see your room? Maybe I could acquaint myself with your bed."  
  
I scowled and punched him in the ribs, but all he did was jump back. "Oh, shove off you perv," I said half-heartedly.  
  
"Fine then. I'll see you Ace."  
  
With that, he came closer and kissed me on the cheek before turning and walking away. Grabbing his broomstick and jumping on it, he flew off into the beautiful day sky, leaving me on my porch with a hand on my tingling cheek and dread in the pit of my stomach at having to go in and help Cami with her stuff.


	15. Furry Coats, Non-Verbal Spells and Obscure Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giant furry coats are everywhere these days. They should really have a spread in Witch Weekly. Along with a quiz about whether or not the handsome Gryffindor keeper at the bar is really flirting with you or not. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi.

**(Lexi's POV)**  
  
I was sitting in the stands at the quidditch pitch, Charlie's giant furry coat wrapped around my shoulders. Three different books were spread out in front of me, a shield charm protecting them from the snow that drifted down. I had taken notes in two of them and I was just about to scribble something in the third when someone sat down beside me. I looked up and saw Black, his easy smirk sending jitters through my stomach.  
  
"What?" I asked icily.  
  
"Just wanted to know how the moving went."  
  
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Worse than I expected."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"My sister tried to convince me to give up my room since I never stay there except on holidays. Then she tried to reorganize everything in the flat. And Rosie agreed!"  
  
I slammed one of the books shut as Black picked one up himself. He flipped through some of the pages and then looked back at me.  
  
"Rosie as in that foxy barmaid at The Three Broomsticks?" He asked.  
  
I rolled my eyes again. "Yes, Rosie as in that foxy barmaid at The Three Broomsticks. She's my flat share. Fucking annoying in the morning too…"  
  
"I wouldn't mind being around her in the mornings," Black said, winking suggestively.  
  
"Merlin, Black! Stop being so fucking hormonal."  
  
He grinned and put his arm around me. "Can't help it, Ace. I'm a teenage boy and I need pleasure."  
  
"Why can't you read a book or something?" I hissed, noting something in the book in my lap.  
  
"Because, Ace. Why read when I can watch  _you_  read? You are quite fascinating to watch read by the way. You constantly start mouthing the words and reacting to things the book says," he said, tightening his grip around my shoulders.  
  
I growled but he didn't move his arm (and I can't honestly say I wasn't happy about it). As I continued to read (and take notes), I felt a something poke my cheek. I looked over to see Black, his finger poised right near my cheek.  
  
"You were mouthing the words again," he whispered, an evil smirk on his lips.  
  
I glared at him. "How's this for mouthing words?"  
  
His lips puckered as he struggled to read my lips, but as realization set in, his expression lightened.  
  
"Ooh, I don't think that's a very appropriate thing to say, Ace"  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked innocently. "I was just saying 'vacuum.'"  
  
He grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out at him. Turning back to my book, I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I felt his gaze on me. I kept my eyes trained on the book, but as I saw Black's finger creep closer and closer to my cheek, I suddenly turned my head and tried to bite down. Black pulled away at the last second, a terrified and confused expression washing over his features.  
  
"Oi! What the bloody hell was that for?"  
  
I grinned and shrugged. "I got bored."  
  
"Well watch it, little rabbit, or you'll bite my finger off."  
  
"I think that was the idea."  
  
He grinned cheekily. "Well aren't you feisty."  
  
"Oh shut up Black!"  
  
He obliged and fell silent, tugging on my hair every once in a while. As I flipped through the pages of the book, I scribbled a few more notes and then slammed it shut with an exasperated sigh. Picking up the next one (which was incidentally the first one I had started working on), I opened it randomly and tried to make sense of the jumble of words on the pages.  
  
After a full minute of trying to figure out what everything meant, I slammed that book shut and started to hit myself on the forehead with it. Suddenly, I felt Black's hand insert itself between my forehead and the book. He took the book from my hand while maintaining his grip on my shoulders.  
  
"What's up?" He asked quietly.  
  
"Gah! I can't figure this out. Do something – anything – to distract me. Please," I pleaded. He wiggled his eyebrows and I sighed. "Talk to me. Distract me with conversation, you idiot."  
  
"Oh, right. So, what are you doing for Christmas? Staying at Hogwarts, going back to your flat, hanging out with a discoing Dumbledore?"  
  
I laughed, letting my head rest on his shoulder. "I'm going back to my flat for a little bit, and if Cami annoys me too much, I'll just walk back up to Hogwarts. You?"  
  
"Going home where no one enjoys my company, relying on James's letters, Remus's cakes and Peter's gifts of smelly cheese – which he gives everyone, yet no one ever wants it, so it always gets given back to him – to keep me from going insane."  
  
I laughed. "How about this? If I owl you throughout Christmas vacation, you owl me back. That way, we both keep our sanity's intact, since our friends are obviously horrible at staying sane themselves."  
  
He laughed too, a hearty sort of bark. "Deal. Will I be getting a Christmas present, then?"  
  
"I don't know," I said coyly. "Will I get one too?"  
  
"Yeah. I promise."  
  
"Well then me too. Pinky promise then?"  
  
He smirked. "Pinky promise?"  
  
I held up my pinky and nodded. He took his hand and held up his pinky too, intertwining both of them and shaking.  
  
"You're such a child," he said, giggling.  
  
"Said the boy who likes poking people when he's bored," I said, laughing.  
  
"You know you like it," he teased.  
  
I smiled coyly at him. "Even if I do, I'll never tell."  
  
He raised one of his eyebrows and I did the same, mimicking him.  
  
"My, my, Alexandra James. You  _are_  a strange one," he said, bopping me on the nose with his thumb.  
  
I wrinkled my nose and grimaced. He laughed and tightened his grip on my shoulders, bringing me closer to him. I leaned into his (really fit) chest and sighed. Grabbing one of the books, I flipped to a page and tried to start reading again, but his breath on the back of my neck was distracting. Just as I was about to close the book, I heard footsteps on the stand stairs. Looking up, I saw Frank, a coy smile on his face.  
  
"Well, isn't this cozy."  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
"That's it, Frank!" I cried happily.  
  
He had just managed to stun Sirius using a non-verbal stunner and I couldn't have been prouder. I had mastered the art of non-verbal spells about 15 minutes prior, using a silent  _petrificus totalus_  on Sirius. Yes, Sirius hadn't left, and since we needed to practice our spells on something or someone other than ourselves, he was the unlucky victim.  
  
"I did it! I stunned someone silently!" He exclaimed happily. "I can't believe I did that."  
  
"You did Frank! Oh, I'm so proud. And before the holidays too. Oh, Defense Against the Dark Arts is going to be a breeze after Christmas."  
  
He smiled. "I know! Thanks. Without you I wouldn't have been able to do it!"  
  
"Oh, don't thank me. You're the one who did it. I just helped with the technical stuff. And I wasn't the one getting hexed at. You should thank Sirius… Sirius!" I said, my smile dropping. "Sirius?"  
  
I raced over to where his body was. I quickly un-stunned him and helped him up as the multiple curses and hexes we threw at him made his legs shake. I started to apologize and he just smiled, telling me to shut up.  
  
"No, Sirius, I can't shut up. I'm so sorry I forgot about you. I've been shooting hexes at you for the past half hour and then I completely forgot you'd been stunned. Oh, Merlin. And you've been lying in the cold snow for the past minute," I said, noticing the large wet spot on his back from where he had landed on the snowy stands. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"No," he said, "it's fine. I probably should've brought a jacket, that's all."  
  
"Yeah," said Frank suspiciously. "Why didn't you?"  
  
Sirius smiled and shot me a glance. "Seems like I let someone use my one and only jumper and coats never were my thing."  
  
I felt my cheeks grow hot as I snuggled into his jumper underneath Charlie's massive furry beast she calls a coat. Frank looked over at me and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Wonder who."  
  
I stuck my tongue out at him and he shrugged, gathering up my books for me and placing them in my book bag. I got up as he came closer, taking his arm as he walked past. I looked back at Sirius as he loitered on the stands.  
  
"You coming?" I asked and he smiled at me.  
  
Jumping down the stands, he followed us down the steps. The snowy stairs made it hard to walk with my cane, so I kept my hold on Frank steady as he navigated down the icy steps. At one point, I felt my feet slip, but almost as soon as I began to fall backwards, I felt Sirius's steady hand on my back. My cheeks flushed and I brushed a stray lock of hair out of my face as I continued on. I saw Frank shoot me a glance, but I ignored him.  
  
"So…" Frank began awkwardly. "What are you both doing for the holidays? Going home and spending some quality time with your families?"  
  
I looked over at Sirius and I could see the tiny smirk on his face.  
  
"Something like that," I said, happy to see Sirius's grin grow.  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
I stood on the train platform, waving to Charlie who was leaning out the window. Her large furry beast of a coat was in the seat next to her and I  _swear_  I saw it move. Carter was next to her, absentmindedly rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, waving to me from the carriage with the other hand. I smiled, feeling tears prick my eyes. The train picked up speed and my vision began to blur as tears began to spill from my eyes.  
  
"Come on, Lexi. Don't start crying now. You'll see them soon," I whispered to myself as I began to walk backwards away from the train.  
  
As I watched the scarlet engine keep moving away from the station, I saw a familiar face with black hair and grey eyes staring at me from one of the carriages. I wiped away the tears from my cheek and then waved, smiling at how stupid I probably looked. He waved back but the smile wasn't reciprocated. The train sped away and I crouched down, letting the tears fall.  
  
I had no idea why, but this Christmas, I really didn't want to spend at my flat. Of course, there was no chance of staying at Hogwarts. Diggory was staying along with his new girlfriend and no one awesome was staying with them. So, holidays with Rosmerta and Camilla it was. I stood up carefully and wiped my cheeks again, walking away from the platform and towards Hogsmeade. As I walked, I pulled my jumper up to my nose, reveling in the fact that the warm and comforting smell that I had grown accustomed to was still there.  
  
   
  
"I need more mugs and shot glasses," Rosie called out to me from the bar.  
  
I sighed, wiping my wrist across my forehead. "Coming right up."  
  
I quickly dusted my hands against my apron and grabbed three tall stacks of mugs and seven small stacks of shot glasses, placing them on a tray. Rushing out to set it down in one of the cupboards under the bar, I took out the seven different stacks and nodded to Rosie as I took the tray and rushed back into the back room.  
  
Once I got there, I threw the other dirty glasses into the large sink and moved out of the way as Ava, the head cook and head dishwasher (I was the cook and dishwasher's assistant), waved her wand so that the brushes and the faucet started going to work. I hustled over to the stoves and began to throw wood into the burner. As Ava began to garnish one of the soups and three other dishes, I brought over the tray and set the finished dishes on top of it.  
  
"Finished?" I asked her.  
  
She smiled at me. "Table 15, sugar."  
  
"Thanks, Ava," I said over my shoulder as I brought the tray out to the bar.  
  
I walked over to Cami, who was leaning against the bar. Setting down the tray, I snapped my fingers in front of her face as she stared off into the distance. At my snap, she turned to look at me.  
  
"Table 15," I told her, already turning to walk back into the back room.  
  
Cami had gotten lucky, when she moved in with Rosie and me, in the sense that Ava had needed a new waitress as The Three Broomsticks became more and more popular. Cami had needed work since I had refused to help pay for her third of the rent, and I wouldn't let Rosie help us both out.  
  
Since I was still at Hogwarts, Rosie helped pay rent, although I knew Dumbledore had found a way to pay her, even though the ministry had told him he technically couldn't. So now, Cami and Rosie were working full time at The Three Broomsticks, while I worked there on holidays, when I could.  
  
Ava was a dream as a boss, always letting us keep a little extra money if we had worked extra hard, and always cooking us food for after our shifts were over. She also rented the nearest flat to ours, so she could always come over if we needed help with anything, and she made sure that Rosie's parties never got too out of hand, something I was immensely glad for, considering she also made sure to keep my bedroom door locked and out of harm's way.  
  
As I began drying off the clean dishes, I looked over to see Ava looking at me.  
  
"Yes, Ava?" I asked curiously.  
  
"Rosie's gotta leave early tonight sugar. Something about her mother coming to visit. Just wondering if you wanted to take a bar shift tonight."  
  
"Ava, I'm only sixteen."  
  
"I know sugar, but it's either you, me or your sister, and I need to stay behind the bar, making the food, and to be honest, I don't trust your sister around drinks," she said, her southern American accent very pronounced.  
  
"Okay," I said, smiling. "Bar shift it is."  
  
"Great, because I'm pretty sure she's left."  
  
"Ava!"  
  
"Sorry sugar, but I just remembered now."  
  
I sighed and pulled off my apron, wiping my wrist against my forehead again as I raced to the bar. I caught a glance of Rosie as she left, but quickly busied myself with drink orders. Butterbeers were easy. Just place the mug under the faucet and turn it on. Firewhiskey was too. Pour until the light blue light at the top of the shot glasses disappeared. The thing that got me was nonalcoholic drinks and mixed drinks.  
  
I had to keep pouring the non-alcoholic drinks down the sink as the faucet for them kept spewing out the wrong ones because I wasn't using magic to operate them. For the mixed drinks, I had to keep checking the booklet that told me how to do so, and because of that, the drink orders were going out slowly. Thankfully, Ava's patrons recognized me and cut me some slack. Some even gave me a sizeable tip for the horrible job I was doing. Just as I was getting the hang of things, I looked up and jumped.  
  
"Wood," I said, my hand flying to my chest. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Miss James, I don't believe you're 17. Are you allowed to be serving alcohol?"  
  
I gave him a smirk. "What'll you have, Wood?"  
  
"Two shots of firewhiskey, please. And one butterbeer."  
  
I grabbed a mug from underneath the bar and placed it under the butterbeer faucet. Turning it on, I looked back at the bar and then glanced around for Cami. Since no one needed a drink and Cami was tending to one of the only two tables, I turned my attention back to Wood.  
  
"What are you doing here Wood?" I asked him, placing my elbows on the bar top.  
  
"I think the better question, Miss James," he said deviously, "is what you're doing here."  
  
I snorted. "Isn't it obvious? I'm working."  
  
"I realize. But what are you doing in Hogsmeade?"  
  
"I live here. Flat share with the regular barmaid and my sister," I said, nodding my chin at Cami.  
  
Turning away from him, I stepped over to the butterbeer faucet and turned it off. Grabbing the mug, I dropped it down in front of him.  
  
"Two sickles, Wood," I said, smiling, as I held my hand out in front of me.  
  
He smirked and pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket. Taking four sickles, he dropped them into my palm. My eyelids flew open.  
  
"Are you planning to have a second butterbeer I didn't know of?" I laughed.  
  
"No," he said winking. "That's for the butterbeer and the firewhiskey."  
  
"You think you can get a butterbeer and two shots of firewhiskey for four sickles?"  
  
"I think I can if I charm the pants off the barmaid."  
  
He winked at me and I pretended to gag.  
  
"Not going to happen, Wood. Here are your two sickles back."  
  
I placed the two coins in his hand and walked away, taking a drink order from one of the last remaining costumers. Taking the coins from them, I walked back over to Wood.  
  
"So, Wood. You never did tell me what you're doing here," I said, raising my eyebrow at him.  
  
"My dad lives in Hogsmeade. I come visit him a few days a year. Divorce and all."  
  
I nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Just let me wash up, okay? Be back in a sec."  
  
I stepped away, grabbing the dish cloth from the cupboard under the bar. Wiping up the bar counter, I took the last few tips from the counter and walked over to the back room.  
  
"Ava, it's time to close. I cleaned up. Can Cami and I leave?"  
  
Ava walked towards me, six plates on a tray. "Made you food, sugar. Mind staying a bit? Don't want you girls going home on an empty stomach."  
  
I smiled and nodded. "Sure Ava. But why did you make six plates?"  
  
"Well, sugar, don't think because I'm not as young as you means I can't hear you talking to that boy at the bar. He seems like a fine young lad. And, the two others are for my own friends. You don't think because I'm old I don't have friends?"  
  
"Of course not, Ava. Would you like me to bring out the plates? It's no trouble."  
  
She gave me a toothy smile and nodded. "Thank you sugar. I'll just wash off and meet y'all out there."  
  
With that she handed me the tray with the plates and sauntered off towards the large sink. I smiled and made my way to the bar, setting three of the plates of food down in front of the two remaining costumers, a hurried 'Ava'll be right out' shot at them over my shoulder as I made my way over to Wood. Setting down the tray, I passed him a plate and then put the other two on the bar counter, shoving the tray underneath in the cupboard.  
  
"It's on the house," I told Wood as he dug into his pockets for change.  
  
He smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Don't thank me, thank Ava," I said, pointing to her as she emerged from the back room and greeted her friends at the bar.  
  
"Will do. Can I ask why?"  
  
"Don't know," I said, moving over to the right as Cami came around the bar to grab her plate. "Guess since she was already making some for my sister and me, as well as her friends and her, she decided one more plate couldn't hurt."  
  
"Well, I'll be sure to thank her twice on my way out. She's a good boss, making free food for you and your friends."  
  
"Oh, I'm your friend now?" I asked coyly.  
  
"Well, I'd like you to be. You're smart, beautiful and a wicked quidditch player to boot."  
  
"Oh, Wood. I might blush."  
  
"I'd be honored if you did."  
  
At this, I did blush and he smiled at me, picking at the green beans on his plate. Cami looked over at me, but I kicked her under the bar when she opened her mouth to say something. As we ate in silence, I heard the bell on the door ring. I looked up to see Ava's friends leaving and Ava walking over with four shot glasses. I gave her a quizzical look but she just winked at me. Setting them down in front of us, she fished the bottle of firewhiskey out from under the bar counter and began pouring. I took the last bite of my food and pushed my plate away.  
  
"Ava, can I ask why you poured  _four_  glasses of firewhiskey when only  _two_  of us are actually of age?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, sugar, you're old enough to work, you're old enough to have some fun every once in a while. Come on don't be a prude," she said, shoving a glass into my hand.  
  
She passed one to Wood and he fished out more coins, though Ava told him to put them away. He did and then gave me a wink.  
  
"I guess I am getting my two shots of firewhiskey after all," he said, smirking.  
  
I rolled my eyes. "You're getting one shot, Wood, not two. I guess counting isn't your best subject."  
  
"Ah, but I was going to give one to the minx of a barmaid."  
  
I blushed again and he winked. I tightened my hold on the firewhiskey glass and then threw it back, choking as it burned down my throat. I saw Wood do the same thing. Alcohol never really was my favorite thing. I'm too much of a lightweight. But he seemed to be a pro, throwing it back and then slamming it on the counter.  
  
"Okay, I'm going to head out," Wood said grabbing my hands in his. "Thanks for everything."  
  
I nodded and he grinned.  
  
"And thanks, Ava," he said, turning to her. "The food was delicious, and thanks for the illegal substances."  
  
He winked and she did so as well. I rolled my eyes and he turned back to me, grabbing my hands again. I felt coins press into my palm and I gave him a confused look. He winked at me again and walked away, pushing open the door. Ava looked at me with an eyebrow raised but I just shook my head, grabbing my (well, Sirius's) jumper and (this time, actually my) coat from a coat rack, and my cane from an umbrella stand. I waited for Cami to grab hers and we took off into the dark and snowy night.  
  
"So, that was…"  
  
"Derek Wood," I finished.  
  
Cami raised her eyebrows and I shoved her lightly.  
  
"Derek Wood, huh? So…"  
  
"Nothing's happening between us."  
  
"Yeah," she said mischievously. "Nothing  _yet_."  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
I walked into the flat to see that Rosie's coat was hung up. I hoped that her visit with her mum went well. Rosie didn't talk all that fondly about the woman. Nevertheless, I hung up my coat and then crossed the flat to my room, passing the couch that was now doubling as Cami's bed. As I got into my room, I jumped straight onto my bed, my face in my pillows.  
  
Groaning, I turned over and got up again, dead set on putting pajamas on before I passed out. A knocking at the window startled me, but it was just an owl. The poor bugger looked frozen. I quickly opened the window and let it in, grabbing the letter from it. Turning the envelope, my stomach flipped as I saw messy writing spell out my name and then  _his_  up in the top left corner.  
  
"Motherfucker," I hissed.  
  
It had already been a few days of Christmas holidays and I had sent five letters to Charlie, three to Carter and two to Sirius. Three guesses who never answered me. And of course, two days after I sent the last letter, I finally got a response. Sirius Black was going to get a good talking to about how to properly respond to a letter. I put the letter to the side, decided that I wasn't going to read it until tomorrow or even the day after that, and put on my pajamas.  
  
Just as I was about to put out the lights, I looked over at the letter once more. Temptation grabbed at me, but I ignored it, turning to my other side. But curiosity was getting the better of me. I quickly turned back around, grabbing the letter and ripping apart the envelope. Unfolding the parchment, I shrieked in frustration as I read the tiny amount of words.  
  
 _Ace,_  
  
 _Sorry. Explain later. Tomorrow – 11:30 p.m._  
  
 _S_  
  
I balled up the letter and threw it across the room, putting out the lights.  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
"Ava, sorry for this but I have to leave in about half an hour. Is that okay, or do you want me to stay until closing?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at the older American woman.  
  
"Oh, sugar, I don't think an extra hour and a half really matters. Anyways, it's a week day. Not many people coming in here after 10:30, I'm afraid. Just make sure to remind me, and to tell Cami and Rosie on your way out."  
  
"Thanks, Ava," I said, relieved.  
  
As I continued to dry the clean dishes – manually I might add, since I'm  _still_  not allowed to do magic outside of school – I brushed a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. A commotion from the bar made me look up, but I quickly turned back to the task at hand. Rosie was tough and pretty. A combination that made breaking up bar fights quite easy for her. At the sound of screaming though, I looked back at Ava who seemed to be worried.  
  
"Want me to go check?" I asked and she nodded.  
  
I dried my hands on the dish cloth and went around to the bar, stopping at what I saw. A large group of people were gathered around something (or someone), and a large trail of blood was leading from the group to the door. Or was it the door to the group? I quickly pushed past a few people, fighting to see what was going on. When I finally got to the front, I stopped dead, horrified at what I saw. Sirius Black was lying on his back, dried and fresh blood covering his face and neck. Large bruises were blossoming on the skin I could see and his clothes were torn up as if he'd been through a tornado.  
  
"Sirius?" I whispered, dropping to my knees. "Sirius?" I said, a little louder this time. "Sirius? Sirius! Sirius, wake up.  _Sirius_!  _SIRIUS_!"  
  
I had begun slapping his cheeks in an attempt to wake him up when someone grabbed my arms. I looked up to see Cami, her face stony.  
  
"I need space," she said to the crowd and they obliged.  
  
Pulling me away from him, she began taking Sirius's pulse. I vaguely felt tears running down my face. Cami quickly stood up and pulled out her wand, muttering an incantation. Sirius's body rose in the air and I let out a choked hiccough. Cami turned back to me and grabbed one of my arms, dragging me along with her as she made her way to the door. As we stepped outside, she slowly lowered Sirius's body back to the ground and then crouched down to put one of his arms around her shoulders.  
  
Placing my own arm around her waist, she pulled her wand arm's sleeve up and looked at me. I understood what she was doing and scrunched my eyes together as she twirled. Pressure came from all sides and I let out a gasp as he hit ground again, my knees giving out under me. Cami quickly opened the door in front of us. We couldn't apparate  _into_  our flat, so we had to apparate directly outside of it.  
  
She levitated Sirius's body again and I numbly followed her inside, watching as she placed him on the couch. As soon as she had done so, she took off to the bathroom. I raced to the couch and dropped down beside it, tears running down my cheeks. Placing my hands on his face, I tried to find the bleeding wounds, but there was so much blood I couldn't tell hair from skin. The blood… So much blood…  
  
I blinked and when I opened my eyes, Cami was on the couch instead of Sirius, her face masked by the dark red liquid. I scrunched up my eyes and when I opened them again, it was still Sirius. I almost sighed with relief, but Cami was back with a muggle first aid kit. Taking out her wand, she tried cleaning the blood off his face, but it didn't work. Letting out a frustrated groan, she began digging into the first aid kit and took out a disinfectant cloth, working on getting most of the blood off his face. I let out a strangled hiccough and she looked over at me, worry written on her face.  
  
"'Dria, maybe you shouldn't be –"  
  
"I need to stay," I said forcefully and she nodded.  
  
Swiftly getting up, she pointed her wand at the large armchair we had in the middle of the sitting room and it flew over to place itself right behind me. I fell onto it, pulling my knees up to my chin, and began sobbing as she worked on the unconscious Sirius. Suddenly, realization washed over me and I looked at Cami.  
  
"Why didn't you bring him to St. Mungo's?" I asked shakily.  
  
She gave me a wary look and then passed me a piece of paper that had been pinned on Sirius's shirt, and that I hadn't noticed before. My hand flew up to my throat as I read the only sentence written there.  
  
 _Bring him to St Mungo's and we attack_.  
  
At the bottom of the page, a large skull with a snake coming from its mouth moved eerily. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked back at Sirius.  
  
"Death eaters?"  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
I woke up suddenly, panic setting in moments after I opened my eyes. The last thing I remembered was Cami giving me tea that tasted suspiciously like a sleeping solution, and my brain could only think that the worst had happened while I was unconscious.  
  
"Sirius!" I cried, looking at the couch.  
  
He seemed even less alive than before, his skin pale and thread crisscrossing over some of the larger wounds. I dropped down in front of the armchair and grabbed one of his hands, willing him to pull away or pull me in. But he didn't. He stayed still as a corpse. For the second time that night, I fell asleep with tears running down my face.  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
Someone was fiddling with my hair, I could tell. Opening my eyes, I tried rubbing my eyes but someone's grip kept one of my hands from going near my face. Looking up, I saw Sirius looking down at me, a sly smirk on his face.  
  
"Sirius?" I whispered.  
  
He nodded, brushing a stray lock of hair out of my face. I felt more tears run down it and I silently cursed myself. Why am I crying so much?! I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I let my head rest on his shoulder, and I could see the growing stain of my tears on his ripped shirt.  
  
"I thought you were dead," I muttered into his shoulder.  
  
He began to chuckle throatily. "Well, I couldn't die without saying goodbye, could I?"  
  
I pulled away from him, laughing and wiping at the tears on my cheeks. Suddenly, he reached out and stopped me from wiping away the tears. I froze and he leaned forward and slowly touched my cheek. He now had one hand on my cheek and the other was intertwining itself with one of mine. I felt my heart rate jump and saw his gaze flicker down to my lips, the familiarity of the situation not lost on me. He suddenly stopped, regret flickering in his eyes as he looked down. As he began to pull back, I quickly let my unoccupied hand fly to his chest. He looked up, surprised, as I pulled on his shirt and brought him even closer. He looked right at me and I smirked.  
  
"I have to give you a break sometime, right?"  
  
And then I kissed Sirius Black.  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
 **Author's** **Note: *Squeal!* She finally did it. She kissed him! Told ya I had something in store for the fifteenth chapter! Granted, it isn't a lot, it's just one kiss, but still! And, for the seventeenth, all hell will fall with what I'm planning. Here's a little heads up:**  
  
   
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
 _I laughed drunkenly, waving my glass about. Sirius had an impish grin on his face and I tried to mirror it to no avail._  
  
 _"_ _I feel wasted," I told him, giggling._  
  
 _"That's 'cause_ _you are."_  
  
 _I gasped dramatically. "Sirius Black, are you trying to get me drunk?"_  
  
 _He smirked. "Why, is it working?"_  
  
 _I hit his arm playfully and downed another shot of firewhiskey, grimacing at the burn down my throat._  
  
 _"_ _I keep thinking about that kiss," I admitted, taking another shot. "About, what happened."_  
  
 _He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Me too."_  
  
 _"_ _But not just that kiss. Others too."_  
  
 _"_ _With other people?"_  
  
 _"_ _No…"_  
  
 _"We've_ _only ever kissed once, Ace."_  
  
 _"_ _Well, that doesn't have to stay like that, does it?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I hope that little tidbit holds you guys over for a while. I'm currently volunteering at a camp, so writing is on the back burner right now. Of course, it would be awesome to get some reviews! Maybe if I see just how many of you guys want it badly, I may rethink my decision to put writing aside. No promises though, but it will probably happen like that. Thanks! MT Out! :)


	16. The Party: Kendra Williams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what did happen during that Gryffindor party? This is Kendra's tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the long update. But as soon as this was completely ready to go, I put it up. No Beta'ing. Although I would like to thank everyone who has Beta'd for me up until now. I will probably send you this chapter ASAP and edit the chapter as I see fit once you get back to me. I would also like to thank all of you for reviewing. There aren't that many, but it makes me happy that you thought to do so.
> 
> So, in no particular order, thanks to:
> 
> Expecto-Prongs (Mucho gracias for sticking with me – original Beta'er here), , letty-fan24, ninjastar 175, saint-self-destruction, BunnyMooMooMonster, Peanut Butter makes Diamonds, - all from FF – hpffisawesome (multiple thanks for the first review), my best friends Alyssa and Sabrina (as well as Alyssa's younger sister who really shouldn't be reading this, but whatever), River Treasure (River_Treasure ? the review names are hard to discern), lilylunalover, Mezzy, ilovegeorgeweasly101, Mystery Man aka Inky Quill (again, is it Inky_Quill ? don't think so, but you never know), teeheemarauder24601, Allilipsie, Jenny, and last but not least, the one reviewer I can count on to make up a fuss about how I never post anything on time: Alanah – all on HPFF.
> 
> I can't thank you enough. I realize this chapter isn't all that exciting (just another POV of the Gryffindor party) and I couldn't be bothered to do either James's POV or Lily's POV, so it's really short, but I'm putting the next one up now, and I can assure you the next two will be interesting. Winks and clinks! Maraudertimes

(Kendra's POV)

"Please, Kendra? Just one date. It'll be fun, I promise!"

I rolled my eyes and walked away from the begging seventh year Hufflepuff. The desperate kid just couldn't take no for an answer.

"Look John. We had a one night stand. I'm not in love with you, you're not in love with me. It was just a good shag. End of story."

I kept walking, flicking my hair over my shoulder as a particularly dashing sixth year Slytherin. What? Some of them are right bints but others… Well let's just say I've made my rounds, and Slytherins are definitely fun. Of course, if any of the marauders found out, I'd be hanging by my toes out of the astronomy tower. Blast those numpties. Ever since I became friends with Lily, they've always hung around since James is smitten with Lils. Of course, she's a scathing bitch to him – something I taught her thank you very much – but the perks of marauders following your best friend were not lost on me.

Especially in the form of Sirius Black.

Tall, dark and handsome. Exactly how I like them. Not to mention the fact that I've fancied him for an insufferable three years, he always seems to be suggestive around me, shooting me winks and eyebrow raises. Of course, I've never gotten the chance to sink my claws into him. He's like the mouse and I'm an owl. He's a smart little bugger, always hiding, but one day I'll be there. Of course, getting him to ask me out would be swell. Not like Jack or whatever. I'd actually take up the offer of a date from Sirius Black. Of course, the majority of the date would be spent in broom cupboards…

"Please. Just once chance."

I turned on my heel, glaring at the idiot following me. "Josh, I swear on Merlin's trousers I will hex you into next Saturday if you don't lay off. Go run off to whatever it is you Hufflepuffs do so that I can get to the Great Hall and eat my breakfast."

"It's Jacob, actually," he said, quietly, tears in his eyes.

I silently swore and turned back, determinedly heading towards the Great Hall. Idiot Hufflepuffs. Especially the sensitive males. As I made my way to the Gryffindor table (Lily, Mary and Alice are really the only friends I've got), I felt my stomach lurch as I saw the familiar mop of shaggy black hair of none other than Hogwarts' resident playboy. But as I continued to look around the Gryffindor table, my heart dropped as I saw where Lily was sitting. All the way on the other side of the table.

As I tried to swallow with my dry mouth, I sauntered over there, making sure to move my hips in a way that led to many envious stares from other girls and many more less-than-admirable thoughts from the boys. As I sat down, Lily smiled brightly at me through a mouthful of cereal, Mary gave me a hushed "Morning" and Alice snored a little from her spot on Mary's shoulder. I let out a small chuckle and sat, digging into the pancakes on the plate in front of me.

"That Jason kid from Hufflepuff was trailing after me this morning," I said to Lily as she took a swig of her pumpkin juice. She gave me a look. "It's not my fault. We hooked up well over a week ago. The mourning period doesn't normally last this long."

"It's not that, Kendra. I just don't think you should be toying with these lads. They have feelings."

I scoffed. "Jackson is just a whiny Puff who can't even last ten minutes. And he wonders why I shot him down."

Mary's mouth puckered and Lily rolled her eyes at my statement. Alice yawned and sat up, oblivious to our previous semi-started conversation.

"Isn't his name Jacob?"

Oops. Guess not so oblivious.

I glared at her as she tried to pat down her mess of black curls. Usually her hair is pin-straight, but on certain days (that may involve a certain Frank Longbottom), she wakes up an hour early to curl it. Hence the sleepiness.

"Whatever," I muttered as a familiar flapping was heard throughtout the Great Hall.

I looked up excitedly. Mail was easily one of the highlights of any week here at Hogwarts. Without it, I wouldn't have the dulcet tones of Mary asking us questions from the quizzes in Witch Weekly, or the distraction that mag gave me in Slughorn's insufferable potions class. But as I saw an inky black owl circle down to rest on the table in front of me, I felt a stone in my stomach. Slowly taking the letter from the owl, I opened it as Lily, Mary and Alice stared at me. Unfolding the parchment inside, I trembled as I saw the familiar handwriting.

Kendra Elizabeth,

I've received word from your headmaster that your grades are quite adequate so far in the year. Adequate? Keep that up and I'll have you brought straight home. If all you can pull is an adequate, I don't expect you'll be staying there too long. I expect you are still training. If not, I will know as soon as you come home. Keep in shape. I will not be having a pudgy daughter, especially with my reputation.

Aunt Kathy sends her regards. Her new beau Timothy has great pull in the oil front in Canada, so I expect she'll be sending out wedding invitations soon. I have already told her you will not be attending. No need for such a young, impressionable girl to attend such an event. Especially one who pulls adequate grades.

Don't bother sending that blasted owl back with a reply. The bloody bastard bit me until it found two pounds on my desk. I'll see you on the holidays unless something comes up.

Regards,  
E. Williams

My hands shook as I read the letter. Adequate grades? We weren't two months into the year! Bloody bastard probably didn't even know a teacup from a tea cozy, let alone transfiguring them into each other.

And Aunt Kathy? Her weddings were always splendid. She never let me go without a drink in hand and always seemed to set me up with a handsome relative of her new 'beau.'

Also, beau? Who the hell says beau? And what kind of father signs his letters like that? Obviously mine.

As for the pudgy daughter comment, I'd show him. Jumping up from the table, I quickly said goodbye to my friends and raced to the corridors. Exercise, my arse. That fucker had no idea that his precious exercises had long since been forgotten with me. I had developed my own method of staying in shape. And I could see it now. The handsome Slytherin from before was chatting with his mates and I plastered a bored expression on my face.

"Excuse me," I said, interrupting them. "Professor McGonagall wishes to speak to you in her office. I'm to accompany you so you don't 'get lost.'"

"Tough luck mate," one of the other boys said.

Handsome boy smiled. "It's alright. Be back in a jiffy. Mc G probably just wants to ask about that kitten from last week. I told her it still whistled when it got too hot."

His friends laughed and one of them clapped him on the back. "Man, Theo, you crack me up."

Theo smiled and turned back to me. "Mc G thinks I'll get lost?" He asked, looking at me curiously as we walked away from his friends and rounded a corner.

"No," I said coyly, slowly placing a hand on his arm and discreetly steering him towards the door of a broom cupboard I was all too familiar with. "But I did."

"Professor McGonagall doesn't want to see me in her office, does she?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow rather… suggestively.

"No," I breathed, opening the broom cupboard and shoving him inside.

You wanted exercise, E. Williams? Well I'll give you exercise.

 

 

**********

 

Theo and I had a lot of fun. So much so that I walked into Potions 45 minutes late and Lily glared at me. I had to sit next to this rando Hufflepuff bloke named Kevin or Andrew or Phillip or something, but I passed notes to Mary the entire time. Apparently we were attending the Gryffindor party tonight. I smirked as I realized this meant I wouldn't have to deal with Theo trailing after me at the party. Gryffindor parties meant no Slytherins.

After our last class of the day (it could have been Herbology or Charms, but I just didn't care) I raced back to my dormitory. It would take me hours to get ready. I needed to be slag-tastic for this party. Hopefully Sirius was drunk enough to give me a chance tonight. He always laughed it off, chalking it up to be too sober to shag a friend. Well, not tonight.

 

 

**********

 

I opened the door to my dormitory just in time to see the bathroom door close. I rolled my eyes as I heard the shower turn on. The girls in my dormitory thought they were smart. They really weren't. Zoe and Sydney were smart, to be honest, but they could never keep something secret. Alexandra and Charlie were the same, but not as bad. Right now, I could tell that Alexandra had broken up with Diggory – good thing too 'cause that boy was trouble – and that Charlie was crying for some reason or another but using the shower as a cover for being alone. Bloody idiotic bints.

"Are you going to the Gryffindor party tonight?" I asked Alexandra's sobbing form. Fucking get over it you whore, I said in my head. Aren't I just so nice? "I'm going and I'm getting ready in Lily's dorm. If you are going though, remember not to be too much of a drag like last time okay?"

I was about to turn away when her voice split through the otherwise silent dormitory.

"Actually Kendra, I was wondering if you could help me get ready for the Gryffindor party. I've decided to go all out and I need someone like you to help me."

Wait! Alexandra Fucking James wanted my help? To look like a slag?

"Oh Merlin, of course Alexandra!" Dress up was my favorite sport after all. "Now that you're done with Diggory, the best thing to do is get him jealous. I know he'll be there so you need to look hot. Smoking to be exact. I want you to look like the end of a cigarette."

Mmm, cigarettes. My last summer fling this year was with this guy named Beck who could make smoke rings with his cigarettes. Sexy. But apparently Alexandra didn't think so. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Kendra, it's not for a few hours at least. We don't need to get ready until, what, an hour beforehand?"

Shock coursed through me. This girl had no idea what she had gotten herself into by asking for my help. Thankfully, I was going to explain everything. And then force her to go with it even if I had to hex her to a chair.

 

 

**********

 

It had taken three hours to get Alexandra and Charlie ready, but as I saw them walk through the portrait hole, I couldn't have been prouder. It had taken me two hours to get myself ready, which was good because almost every other girl would have paled next to those two bitches whereas I stood out myself. Currently grinding to a hot seventh year, I turned and kissed him full on the mouth.

Gross. Saliva city.

Tearing away from Water Works, I made my way through the dance floor, eventually making it to the Gryffindor boys' stairs. Perfect. Slowly making my way up them (allowing the entire Gryffindor a nice view of my arse), I heard minimal noise from each dormitory until I heard a large guffaw from the fifth years room.

Perfect.

I threw open the door and saw none other than James Potter, some of his fan club, and extremely attractive blokes. Mind you, I had already made my mark on half of them, but second time can be the charm, right? Right! They seemed to be playing Truth or Dare. I saw a bottle of firewhiskey in James's hand and sat down next to him much to the dismay of his fan club. Downing about half the contents of the bottle I turned to him.

"Get me wasted and get me laid," I told him.

"I promise."

He smiled and I knew he would make good on that promise. Looking across the circle, I caught the eye of a very attractive boy.

"You," I said shrilly. "Truth or Dare."

"Dare," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I smiled, licking my lips. "Change underwear with the person to your left."

The boy looked over and gave me a look as he saw the lacy thong poking out of the girl's denim mini skirt. I smirked and silently promised him he would not have them on for long.

 

 

**********

 

Somewhere along the course of the night, I had gotten shit faced, given James Potter my underwear, hooked up with the attractive boy who eventually put on the lacy thong, along with that rando seventh year Puff again, and then two other boys. At least, I think I did.

Alcohol was always abused when it came to me.

I had made it back to my own dormitory at one point in the night, and collapsed on my bed. I didn't actually go to sleep though. Too much buzzing in my head. That was happening a lot lately. As I turned around again, I heard the door slowly click open and pretended to be asleep as whoever the late comer was tried to walk to her bed silently. It didn't work. I heard rustling from Alexandra's bed as Charlie (at least I thought it was her) tried to be quieter.

"Charlie," I heard Alexandra mutter. Yes, I knew it was Charlie! "Charlie, what time is it?"

"Hey sweetheart," Charlie said, trying to distract her, "how are you? I didn't wake you did I?"

More rustling was heard.

"Charlie what time is it?" Alexandra asked forcefully.

"It's four in the morning. I did wake you didn't I? I'm sorry sweetheart. Go back to sleep."

"Charlie, you don't sound drunk. But you came back late. Charlie what did you do?"

I think the better question would be who did she do? But I didn't say that. I held my tongue.

"Go back to sleep sweetheart, we'll talk in the morning, okay?"

"Does Charlie have a boyfriend?" More like a fuck buddy, but continue Alexandra. "Does – Oh I'm sorry Charlie I won't tease you anymore, okay?"

"That's okay Al. Now go back to sleep."

I heard more movement and could barely hold in all my excitement. Charlotte Meaver, prude extraordinaire was a slag. Just like me! Well, slightly less slaggy. But still a little slaggy. As I waited for her to get in bed, I felt myself jump up and at her bed. I just couldn't hold in my excitement. Landing on her and covering her mouth with my hand, I put my mouth near her ear.

"You dirty little slag." I felt her relax from the tensed up state she was in from when I attacked her. I took my hand off her mouth. "Who was it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kendra dearest."

"Oh please. You slept with someone, dirty little slag."

"Stop calling me that!"

"But it's true. Makeup smudged, outfit trashed, hair mussed, and coming back early in the morning. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Take it from a real veritable slag. I know when someone has had amazing fun."

"Keep it down," she said, shushing me. "I don't want Alexandra to know."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not something to be proud of, Kendra!"

"Really? Because I quite like doing so."

"Kendra, I'm not you. I don't want the news of my exploits all around Hogwarts."

"Oh come on. At least tell me who it was."

"If I do will you promise to keep it a secret? To not tell anyone? And to stop pestering me?"

I groaned. "Fine."

"Um, Remus Lupin."

Hold up. HOLD. THE. FUCK. UP. Remus Lupin. REMUS FUCKING LUPIN?! What? Which is exactly what I said.

"WHAT?!"

"Kendra!" She said, slapping her hand against her mouth and shushing me.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry," I muttered. But then my curiosity got the better of me. "So, anyways, was he any good?"

"Kendra!"

My question never got answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So how do you like it? I'm thinking of doing a short spinoff written in Kendra's perspective. Thoughts? Favorite moments, quotes? Expectations? Next one's coming right up!


	17. Kisses, Blood and Something More (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kissing Sirius Black was surprisingly good. Working with him and Wood was even better (well, maybe not - that boy has some lips!). I'm the new Alexandra James. And my life has finally turned around!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know I promised something big, so I hope I delivered. Just a recap from two chapters ago (since we had a party POV in between): Lexi got a vague letter from Sirius, he showed up in The Three Broomsticks unconscious and bloody, Cami took Sirius back to their flat to nurse him back to health since the death eaters would attack St. Mungo's if they brought him there, Lexi finally kissed Sirius (and not the other way around). Now you're all caught up. Feel free to review, favorite, follow, PM me, read my other fanfic about Alice, etc.
> 
> BTW: Thanks to everyone who helped me Beta this story, and all those who reviewed, favorite, followed, etc. You make this story go on, not me.

**(Lexi's POV)**  
  
I kissed Sirius Black, I screamed at myself in my head. I'm kissing Sirius Black _right now_! What the hell am I thinking? But his hands on my waist dispelled my thoughts, pulling my attention only to him. He tried to lift me up onto the couch but instead, I straddled him. Running my hands through his hair, I felt his own run up and down my back and I shivered. He grinned into my lips and I had to smile back. I kissed him deeper, running my hands down his chest. Suddenly I heard someone clear their throat.  
  
"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be putting his blood pressure up so high when he's still recovering from his wounds."  
  
I jerked back, falling off the couch in the process. Scrambling up, I saw Cami at the door to my bedroom, an eyebrow raised. She smirked at me and I tried to smooth down my hair. Straightening my clothes, I stumbled backwards, trying to find my way to the door.  
  
"Um, yeah. I need to go do something… personal."  
  
With that, I turned around and scrambled out of the flat, not bothering to grab my coat or cane. As I closed the door to my flat, I stumbled outside to a bench that was facing the building. Slumping down, I buried my head in my hands. A slam of a door made me look up and I saw Cami walking towards me. Sitting down, she wrapped her arms around me.  
  
"I thought he was just a friend," she said, grinning.  
  
I groaned. "He's supposed to be."  
  
"How are you going to survive the entire holidays with him?"  
  
"The entire holidays?!"  
  
"Well, yeah. I offered him the couch."  
  
"Cami, that's supposed to be your bed. Where will you sleep?"  
  
"In yours."  
  
"Where will I sleep?"  
  
"I'm sure there's more than enough room on the couch for both of you."  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
"So, you have my present?"  
  
I looked over at Sirius as we walked down the streets of Hogsmeade. He grinned at me through the falling snow.  
  
"Your what?"  
  
"You promised me a Christmas present."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Sirius, its Christmas Eve. Even if I did get you a present, I couldn't give it to you until tomorrow."  
  
"Couldn't or wouldn't?"  
  
"Wouldn't. And even so, how do you know I got you one?"  
  
He smirked, tugging one a lock of my hair. "Because Ace, I know you. And you wouldn't dare let me down."  
  
"Well, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow, won't you?"  
  
"Oh, you _are_ a tease, Ace."  
  
"Well, did you get me something?"  
  
"Of course I did, Ace. I wouldn't forget you."  
  
I smiled, bumping his shoulder with mine. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we kept walking, enjoying the peaceful, snowy day.  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
"You going out tonight?"  
  
I looked away from the cereal cabinet to see Sirius walking towards the kitchen table with his pajama pants on. Let me rephrase that. With _only_ his pajama pants on. They weren't even his in the first place. Rosie has an entire drawer full of guys pajama pants for her 'overnight guests.' Although I can't deny that it made it less awkward to stare at him when he had pants on.  
  
"Um, no. I have to work tonight since Cami _and_ Rosie have the night off. No exceptions," I said as he opened his mouth to say something.  
  
"Oh come on. It's New Year's Eve. Shouldn't you be trying to get drunk and have a good time?"  
  
"Last time I got drunk I almost snogged you."  
  
"Isn't that good reason then?"  
  
I rolled my eyes and brought the two bowls of cereal over, dropping his in front of him. He grinned at me but I just rolled my eyes again. Digging into my breakfast, I smiled as he got up and brought me back a glass of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. I feel like you deserve it. After all, you _are_ letting me stay here," he said, ruffling my hair.  
  
I ducked and growled. "Don't touch the hair, Sirius. And it isn't for free, you know."  
  
"What? I thought you were doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"  
  
I laughed. "You owe me another jumper, how's that?"  
  
"I got you one for Christmas."  
  
"You let me keep the one I had already taken from you!"  
  
"Well, it's better than taking it back," he said, smirking. "Plus, your gift was a pair of scissors."  
  
"I thought you might need some. Your hair and everything."  
  
He raised his eyebrow at me and I stuck my tongue out. I took my last bite of cereal and picked up my glass of pumpkin juice, downing it. Walking past him to get to the sink, I hit Sirius over the head. He whined girlishly and I grinned.  
  
"That's for not getting me another jumper," I said, walking over to the door and taking my coat off the coat rack and my cane from the umbrella holder. "Be back late. Tell Cami or Rosie if you're going out and don't come back if you're out later than two in the morning."  
  
"You sound like my mother."  
  
"I reckon I'm a fair bit sexier than your mother."  
  
"That you are."  
  
I smiled and saluted him goodbye.  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
"One butterbeer and two shots of firewhiskey, please."  
  
I smiled at the newcomer, rolling my eyes. "Wood, go home."  
  
"What?" He gasped dramatically. "But I'm not drunk yet."  
  
"Wood, you're at a table. It's customary to order food if you're at a table."  
  
"Well, I would go up to the bar, but you aren't working up there tonight," he said, winking.  
  
I rolled my eyes again and smacked him upside the head. "Actually, I am. We're shorthanded on staff tonight. And even if you did go up to the bar, you're underage."  
  
"Oh, come one, it's New Year's Eve."  
  
"No Wood."  
  
"Oh, come one, Ace," a silky smooth voice said from behind me. "Let the man have some firewhiskey."  
  
I looked around to see Sirius leaning against one of the tables. His easy smirk made me grimace.  
  
"Oh shove it, Sirius," I growled, but I couldn't help the smile that made its way onto my face. "Now the both of you either order or get out."  
  
"Is that any way to treat your costumers?" Wood said cheekily, but I silenced him with a glare. "Okay, okay. One butterbeer and one order of fish and chips."  
  
I wrote it down on the pad of paper and then turned to Sirius.  
  
"One shot of firewhiskey and one order of plain chips."  
  
"Sirius, you're not of age," I sighed.  
  
He smirked at me. "Actually, I am."  
  
"You're getting butterbeer."  
  
"No, I'm getting firewhiskey."  
  
"You're getting butterbeer and you'll like it."  
  
I smiled at them and walked into the back room. Ava looked up expectantly and I placed the order slip on the counter. She smiled, passing me a plate and an order slip. I checked to make sure the order was complete and then brought it out to the correct table. Just as I was about to go back to the bar to get Wood and Sirius's drink order, I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over to see Wood and Sirius grinning at me, aprons on.  
  
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, furiously. "If Ava finds out you've been messing around in the stock room, she'll have my head."  
  
"Ava was the one who gave us the aprons," Wood said, grinning like a two-year-old hopped up on five pounds of pure sugar.  
  
"What? No, that's not possible." I quickly made my way to the back room, excusing myself from the customers for a moment. "Ava, did you give two boys aprons?" I asked the older woman.  
  
She smiled her trademark Louisiana smile. "Well, sugar, I think I did. We're shorthanded and they were willing to do it for a free meal."  
  
"Ava, they have no idea what they're doing."  
  
"Oh, sugar. You man the bar and they'll get and give out orders. Just running around. Don't think I haven't seen you racing about, taking no time for a breather."  
  
I shot her a look but she just smiled sweetly, shooing me out of the back room. I groaned and made my way back to the bar. I saw Wood already at a table where a family was seated. He laughed at something the kid said and I felt a smile make its way onto my face. He wasn't bad – for a Gryffindor. Especially one who shared a dorm with the marauders.  
  
Then again, Frank wasn't bad either. And if I had to be truthful, maybe the marauders weren't so bad themselves. As I looked over, searching for Sirius, I saw him leaning on a table, watching me as I had stared at Wood, smiling. His face was stony and his eyes flashed dangerously, but as he realized I was now watching him, his eyes cleared, leaving nothing for me to decipher. I looked down and then back up at him again, but he had walked over to a table and began taking their orders.  
  
I quickly turned my attention back to the customers at the bar, trying my best to mix their drinks, avidly avoiding Sirius's gaze, while also avidly trying to avoid _any_ sort of contact with Wood. 15 minutes before midnight, Ava came out and sat down on one of the bar stools, a covered platter of food in her hand.  
  
"Well, boys, sorry I can't officially pay you, but you aren't my employees," she said in her trademark American accent. "I can, however, give you enough food to make your bellies burst."  
  
She uncovered the platter and I could practically see the boys salivating. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a paper bag and a few plastic containers, grabbing a plate before the two boys devoured everything. Filling the containers with food, I felt someone watching me. I looked up to see all three of them looking at me curiously.  
  
"I'm not particularly hungry, and I'm pretty sure Cami wouldn't mind some food." I filled up the last container and smiled at them. "Anyways, I should get home. Rosie'll have my head if she can't at least get to her party for 11:45. Bye Ava, Wood. See you in a few, Sirius."  
  
With that, I dropped my apron underneath the bar in one of the cupboards and walked around the bar, making my way to the door. Almost as soon as I touched the door though, I heard Sirius's voice behind me.  
  
"Wait up, Ace. Let me walk with you."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Sirius, if you're not ready in three seconds, I'm leaving." As if to prove my point, I grabbed my cane and opened the door. "One… Two… Thr–"  
  
"Ready."  
  
I turned around, looking at him incredulously. He now had a paper bag identical to mine, stuffed to the brim with plastic containers of food. He grabbed his coat from the coat rack and smiled at me.  
  
"Are we going, or not?"  
  
I glared at him and took a step outside, turning to watch for patches of ice. Just as Sirius caught up to me, he swore and I looked over at him.  
  
"Forgot something. Go on without me, okay?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Was going to anyways," I yelled over my shoulder, but he had already raced back to The Three Broomsticks.  
  
I kept walking shivering in the cool night air. I saw windows lit up with candles and streamers and blinking lights. It reminded me of when I was younger and Cami showed me the ball dropping in New York on the television set. Of course, wizards here likely didn't care about anything in New York, especially the ball dropping. As I continued to walk, I pulled one arm – the one not holding the cane – around me, hugging myself. A harsh wind blew past, making my hair fly back, stinging my cheeks. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around me and I looked over to see Sirius. He now had two paper bags in one hand and an easy smirk on his face.  
  
"I got firewhiskey," he said, holding up the second paper bag.  
  
I frowned. "Sirius, you're underage. Ava won't like that you stole that, even if you did pay for it."  
  
"Like I've been trying to tell you, I'm 17 already, and Ava sold it to me. I wouldn't _steal_ alcohol. I'm much too good to do that."  
  
I snorted. "You're not 17, Sirius. And even if you didn't steal it, you shouldn't have tricked Ava into selling it to you."  
  
"I swear, I'm 17!"  
  
"Stop it, Sirius. I don't believe you."  
  
"Fine. Believe this."  
  
With that he grabbed me by the arm and twirled me around to face him. Holding on to both my arms now, he twisted and I felt unimaginable pressure. My ears popped and I felt like I was going to be sick. Just as we were supposed to touch ground, I felt something hit me and I went flying. Stumbling back on a patch of ice – seriously, do wizards even know what salt is used for? – I fell and landed on my arse. Swearing, I picked myself up and saw Sirius doing the same a few feet away. Looking up, I saw my flat and scowled.  
  
"You can't apparate into my flat you minger. There are enchantments. Stupid, fucking, 17-year-old git."  
  
I muttered that last part but he still heard it. Grinning, he skipped over to me.  
  
"Told you I was of age. How else do you think I got to Hogsmeade?"  
  
I stiffened, remembering what had happened. His happy face died too and he stepped away from me and towards the door.  
  
"Right. That was not the best entrance. Anyways, shall we go up?"  
  
I nodded stiffly and opened the door, walking in. Stumbling up some stairs, I let Sirius open the door to my flat, and walked inside. It was dark. Too dark for Cami and Rosie to be here.  
  
"Sirius?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "Sirius, what's happening? Why is so dark?"  
  
He was right behind me but he quickly went around, pulling me behind him so my back was pressed against the door. Pulling out his wand, he slowly walked forward. When all I could see of him was a faint silhouette, I saw him slip and fall, the loud crash seemingly too loud for the total silence that had fallen in the span of 30 seconds.  
  
"Sirius?" I cried, running forward.  
  
" _Lumos_."  
  
The light from his wand illuminated him and I took the extra few steps needed to be next to him and then fell to my knees.  
  
"Are you okay? You went down pretty hard. Nothing hurt or…"  
  
My voice trailed off as I saw him pick up his hand from the floor. It was covered in blood. I looked past him and my breath caught in my throat.  
  
Not two feet away, Cami lay on the floor, her hair matted with blood. I looked down and sure enough, angry red slits were running down her arm, blood gushing out like a fountain.  
  
I felt Sirius pull away, and could barely hear him telling me to stay where I was and not do anything foolish. Then I saw him pick Cami up and race out the door. A large crack from where they just were made me turn, but I saw nothing. Tears welled up in my eyes and I felt them fall down my face. Looking at the dark stain that was blood, I felt something well up inside. I would distract myself.  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
When Sirius got back, he found me crouched on the floor, in the middle of a dark room, scrubbing the floor. I had mopped up the remaining blood with the towels from the bathroom and they were now in a large pile near me, the light blue stained with dark blood. I had been scrubbing the floor for five minutes, but I couldn't get rid of the dark stain.  
  
It was hard to see, since I hadn't actually tried to put out any lights, but I continued to scrub, dunking the scrubbing brush in the blood laced water in a large bucket I had filled earlier. He walked over and crouched down beside me, silently conjuring up a small ball of pulsing light that hovered over our heads.  
  
"What are you doing," he asked, taking my hands of the brush and holding on to them.  
  
"This is my home. Where I sleep at night. If her blood… if I had to sleep knowing it was still out here… I can't let it stay here. I need to clean it up."  
  
"Why don't you let me do that?"  
  
I looked up at him and nodded blankly, sitting back on my ankles. He gave me a funny look.  
  
"Do you want to go to your room?"  
  
I nodded again and stood up, walking over to my room. Sitting down on my bed, I looked at the wall, my mind racing around what had just happened.  
  
  
   
  
 **************  
  
   
  
 **(Sirius's POV)**  
  
"Why don't you let me do that?" I asked her cautiously.  
  
She nodded and sat back on her ankles. Staring at the floor, I saw tears continue to fall down her face.  
  
"Do you want to go to your room?" I asked again.  
  
She nodded and slowly stood up. I was about to get up in case she stumbled – her cane was lying on the floor near the door – but she calmly walked over to her room, her gait unmarred by her usual limp. Merlin, her eyes were dead. I had seen that before, seen that expression in the mirror after they had gotten through with me. But Lexi? She was so strong. I looked back at the floor she had been furiously scrubbing and flinched. Clean linoleum stared back at me. It looked as if she had completely cleaned it minutes before I got back. Yep, I was going to need some heavy artillery.  
  
  
   
  
 **************  
  
   
  
 **(Lexi's POV)**  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
I jerked my head over, so that instead of staring at the wall, I was staring right into Sirius's grey eyes. I nodded slowly and I swear I saw something break in his eyes. He came over and sat next to me. I vaguely registered something in his hands, but didn't care. I was still staring into his eyes, the grey colour hypnotizing me.  
  
"Distract me," I whispered. "Stop me from reliving it. From reliving everything."  
  
I choked up at the last word and felt more tears fall down my face. He nodded and held out one of the things in his hand. I looked at it. A shot glass. I looked back at him and he smiled sheepishly, holding up the bottle of firewhiskey. I smiled back, a half-hearted one at best. His smile faltered and he quickly opened the bottle and then poured the alcohol into my glass. Almost as soon as he had finished, I threw it back, coughing as it burned down my throat. He gave me a look and then poured me another. I threw that back too.  
  
"Watch it, Ace. Too much and I'll have to hold your hair up while you bend over a toilet bowl," he said, no trace of a smile on his gorgeous features.  
  
"Well, you are obviously horrible at distracting me."  
  
"We're in a bedroom, no one else in the flat, and you get mad when my idea of a distraction is alcohol instead of something else?" I gave him a look and he smirked. "You have to admit, I didn't even insinuate anything until now."  
  
I gave a lifeless laugh. "Yes, thank you."  
  
He smiled. "So, distract you?"  
  
"Please."  
  
"Well, the saga of Sirius Black starts when I was about seven."  
  
"You can't copy me Sirius," I said, giggling a little.  
  
His face lit up at my veritable smile. "I can if it'll distract you!" I tried to suppress my smile but all that happened was a strange grimace that made Sirius crack up. "Anyways," he continued, "I actually was around seven years old when everything went downhill. I was with my mother in diagon alley and she commented on how muggleborns should be taken out back and killed. I asked her what was so bad about them and when I got home, I got five lashes."  
  
"With a whip?!" I exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"My parents are notoriously old fashioned. Anyways, the next time my mother said something like that, I was even more defiant. After 4 years, I got shipped off to Hogwarts. My parents thought they had beaten the fight out of me, but the next time I got home, those words were branded onto my back."  
  
"For being in Gryffindor?"  
  
He gave me a look. "My parents are notoriously old fashioned. Anyways, over the years, it just got worse and worse and then the night I got here, I was trying to sneak out and leave. My mother found me and, unfortunately, we were having a family gathering. Even more unfortunately, half of my extended family are death eaters." My hands flew up to my mouth and he gave me a sad smile. "I was just lucky that my father decided to spare me. He pinned that note to my jacket and then gave me my wand. He told me if I didn't disapparate within three seconds he would kill me himself. So I came here, like I had planned."  
  
"Why did you plan to come here," I asked.  
  
He smirked at me. "Oh, come on, Ace. I was going to explain why I hadn't been writing and then I was going to give you my Christmas present. Afterwards, I was going to go to James's, but since you were so gracious to let me use your couch, I decided a few days with my favorite girl wouldn't hurt."  
  
I gave him a look and he smiled back at me. "Oh shut it," I said, a smile tugging at my lips.  
  
"Have I properly distracted you?" He asked.  
  
"Make me laugh and I'll be properly distracted."  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
I laughed drunkenly, waving my glass about. Sirius had an impish grin on his face and I tried to mirror it to no avail.  
  
"I feel wasted," I told him, giggling.  
  
"That's 'cause you are."  
  
I gasped dramatically. "Sirius Black, are you trying to get me drunk?"  
  
He smirked. "Why, is it working?"  
  
I hit his arm playfully and downed another shot of firewhiskey, grimacing at the burn down my throat.  
  
"I keep thinking about that kiss," I admitted, taking another shot. "About what happened."  
  
He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Me too."  
  
"But not just that kiss. Others too."  
  
"With other people?"  
  
"No…"  
  
"We've only ever kissed once, Ace."  
  
"Well, that doesn't have to stay like that, does it?"  
  
He gave me a wary look. "Ace, you've had a lot to drink. Maybe you should just go to bed."  
  
I gave him a coy smile. "I am in bed. And you're in my bed too. Want to comment on that?"  
  
"No, Lexi, I don't."  
  
"Wow, you called me by my given name," I said. "How many times as that happened? Not enough, I'm going to say."  
  
"Go to bed, Lexi. Sleep off the alcohol."  
  
I looked at him and placed my hands on each side of his face. "If I told you I wasn't drunk, would you believe me?"  
  
"Lexi, you just admitted you're drunk not five minutes ago," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
I leaned in and slowly let my lips touch his. "Well, what if I lied? What if I've been pretending to be drunk because it's easier to do that than admit to myself that I can't deal with the fact that my sister tried to kill herself again?"  
  
"Because you're not that good of an actress," he said, pushing me away. "Now, go to sleep. Let the alcohol burn off."  
  
He walked out, leaving me to lie back on the bed and cry into my pillow.  
  
  
   
  
**********  
  
   
  
I woke up, my heart in my throat as I heard a sharp crash from outside my bedroom door. I sat straight up and scrambled to my door. Thankfully, I had fallen asleep in my clothes. Opening it a crack, I saw light illuminate a (very shirtless) Sirius sitting on the couch and a (very drunk) Rosie standing behind him. I saw her wink and something stirred in my stomach. Yanking open the door, I stormed over to her and slapped her across the face.  
  
"What the –"  
  
"I told you she was suicidal! I _told_ you to stay with her until I got back. Why couldn't you just do me that one favour? She's back at St. Mungo's you fucking slag!" I screamed at her as she put a hand to her cheek.  
  
I slapped her again and the jerk of her head somehow made me quite happy. I was about to hit her again, this time with my fists, when I felt Sirius grab my arms and pull them behind me.  
  
"Ace, calm the _fuck_ down," he said slowly into my ear.  
  
"I will _not_ calm down! My sister's life is hanging by a thread because of her!"  
  
"Ace, maybe you should go back to sleep. The alco–"  
  
" _I am not drunk_ ," I hissed, trying to yank my arms from his grasp. "I am _livid_ , that's what I am. She couldn't _wait_ to get to her party and it almost killed Cami."  
  
Sirius twirled me around and looked me dead in the eye. "Rosie didn't almost kill your sister. Cami chose to try and take her own life. Deal with it."  
  
I felt tears well in my eyes and I shook his hands off me. Giving Rosie one more withering glare, I walked over to my bedroom and slammed the door closed. Taking one deep breath in, I let out a screech of epic proportions, storming over to my bed and throwing the covers onto the floor, whipping the pillows at the door. When I was at my last pillow, I turned and threw it at the door again, but instead of hitting it as I would have liked, I saw Sirius grab it before it hit him in the face.  
  
"Get out," I said harshly, sitting down in my bed.  
  
He shot me a look and walked over, placing my pillow back on the bed. "Calm down. I was just making sure you weren't getting tortured." I stiffened and he seemed to realize what he said. "Oh shit, I'm sorry."  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"Come on, I'm sorry."  
  
I looked at him, my gaze burning into his. "So I've heard."  
  
"Merlin, Ace. Just calm down. Let things go. You're so emotional."  
  
"I'm _emotional_?" I shrieked. " _I'm_ emotional? I just saw my sister, lying in a pool of her own blood, not 12 hours ago. I think I have the right to be emotional, you cold-hearted git."  
  
I felt tears running down my face and I quickly wiped them away. Almost as soon as I put my hands back in my lap, Sirius grabbed them and held on.  
  
"Lexi, I just think you're too tired to make sense of anything. Just lie down, okay?"  
  
I nodded, wiping the new tears from my cheeks. Snuggling into my pillow, I let the tears fall freely while Sirius gathered my other three pillows and handed them to me. I gave him a sad smile and he made his way to then end of my bed and grabbed the sheets and blankets. Pulling them over me, he brushed the hair off my face and kissed my forehead.  
  
As he began to pull away, I reached out and grabbed one of his wrists. He looked back at me and I sat up, pulling him towards me as I did so. As he came closer, he put both hands on either side of me and I relinquished my grip on his wrist to put my arms on his shoulders, linking my hands behind his neck.  
  
I leaned forward and kissed him, pulling him closer to me as I did so. One of his hands flew up and tangled into my hair. This time, he pulled me closer and I leaned back, slowly lying down. He came with me, his other hand resting on my waist. I threaded one of my hands in his hair and then brought both of them to his chest, slowly pulling them down until they rested at his hips. Suddenly, he pulled away, looking at me curiously.  
  
"Lexi, are you sure you're not drunk? I don't want to do _anything_ if you're drunk," he asked, letting one of his fingers trail up my arm.  
  
I shivered and smiled. Kissing him again, I threaded my hands through his hair. He pulled away again though, and put both of his hands next to my head, looking down at me.  
  
"I trying _extremely_ hard to be a gentleman here, considering I'm almost 100 percent sure that you aren't completely sober, but you really aren't helping," he said.  
  
I smirked his own trademark smirk. "Then don't be a gentleman."  
  
And he obliged.


	18. Strudels, Talking and Insufferable Pleas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin's beard, what have I done? And why is it that chocolate croissants can't even make me feel better? I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And my life sucks...

My head was pounding. A sharp pain right in between my eyebrows made me scrunch up my nose and I quickly shut my eyes as I tried to open them in the sunlight streaming through my window. I groaned as another flash of pain shot through my head.  
  
Merlin, what did I do last night?  
  
I barely remembered Sirius leaving me in bed, drunk out of my mind. I smiled at that. He was gentlemanly, and I liked that. I also liked the way his hair was naturally messy, as if combs couldn’t pass through it. And his abs were nice too, not to mention his eyes.  
  
Ooh, his eyes were gorgeous. A soft grey that, although the cliché sucked, was like a cloudy sky shot through with beams of sunlight. I felt almost silly thinking about them in that way, but I couldn’t help it. And his lips were so soft and nice against my own. Oh, Sirius Black was definitely something. Of course, if anyone asked I would totally deny everything I felt for him. Except for the annoyance. Merlin, that boy can annoy me.  
  
I thought about that easy smirk that gave me butterflies in my stomach and drove me crazy all at the same time and smiled a little wider. Turning over in my bed, as I usually did in the morning to check my clock, I froze as my eyes landed on someone’s face. But not just someone. A someone with impossibly messy black hair and stormy grey eyes, although they were covered by his eyelids. Sirius Black was in my bed.  
  
I screamed.  
  
His eyes shot open and he looked startled to see me there. I screamed again and shuffled backwards, although that didn’t accomplish anything except for me falling off the bed in a tangle of sheets.  
  
“Oh, Merlin! Are you okay?” Sirius said and I could hear him shuffling across the bed. Across _my_ bed.  
  
“Stop!” I shrieked and his shuffling did. “Are you wearing anything?”  
  
There was silence and then a hesitant “No…”  
  
“Then don’t move. Shut your eyes and turn around.” I heard more movement and quickly made sure the tangle of sheets I was in was covering everything. “Okay,” I said, standing up, “I’m going to go have a shower. By the time I’m out, I want you and all of your things out of my room. Understand?”  
  
I heard a muffled agreement and blindly made my way to the door, opening it and slamming it shut as fast as I could. Walking across the flat and making my way to the bathroom, I locked myself in and slumped to the ground, my back against the door. Letting the tears fall down my face, I ran my hands through my mussed hair.  
  
“What have I done?”  
  
  
   
  
I spent a good hour in the shower, letting the water just pound against my skin. I felt disgusting, like everywhere Sirius had touched was tainted. I washed my hair five times and my skin seven times. Then, because I had nothing better to do, I shaved my legs.  
  
Once that was all done, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around myself. I spent an extra 20 minutes drying off and moisturizing myself, and then another 10 putting my hair up in a ponytail. Once that was over with, I realized with dismay that the only thing I had for clothes were the sheets I brought in. No way was I touching those again.  
  
I folded them as fast as I could and wrapped the towel around me a little tighter. I smiled when I realized it was the same kind of towel Sirius had taken the night I found out about Lupin. Then my smile disappeared as I realized who I was smiling over. I quickly left the bathroom, hurrying to my room and shutting the door behind me. I dropped the sheets in my laundry bin and quickly dressed, leaving the clothes I had on the night before in a pile on the ground.  
  
Pushing my hair away from my face, my stomach growled and I cursed it. Why didn’t I have a stockpile of candy in my room? Now I would have to leave the sanctity of my room, where I might run into… Him. I shivered at the thought but swallowed my pride and opened the door. No one was in sight. I sighed gratefully and hurried over to the pantry where I found some strudels.  
  
Mmm, strudels. The one thing other than chocolate croissants that could make me happy right now. Or, at least not disgusted with myself. Well, maybe only a little disgusted with myself.  
  
Oh, who am I kidding? I was totally going to eat instead of face my feelings.  
  
And it would’ve worked too if I didn’t hear a slight noise from behind me. I whipped around and saw Sirius standing a little ways away, his hair wet and sticking to his skin, one of my towels wrapped around his waist. The familiarity of the moment was not lost on me, but my surprise kept me silent.  
  
“I took the liberty of having a shower as well. I hope you don’t mind.”  
  
I shook my head and turned back to my strudel.  
  
“I’m leaving for James’s then. I got in touch with him. As soon as I’m ready I’ll apparate over.”  
  
I nodded again, shoving a piece of strudel into my mouth. Damn, that was good!  
  
“Ace, will you talk to me?”  
  
I kept my back turned to him. “You’re going over to James’s. Good for you.”  
  
“Lex, I’m sorry, okay? Whatever I did wrong, I’m so sorry. Please look at me.”  
  
I turned around, shoving an entire strudel into my mouth. “Wha? I nah wad.”  
  
He gave me a strange look. “Are you… eating an entire apple strudel for breakfast?”  
  
I felt my cheeks go red and I swallowed. “It might be just my second…”  
  
“ _Just_ your second?”  
  
“If I want to eat an entire box of strudels for breakfast, I can!”  
  
“Are you eating your feelings, Ace?”  
  
“No!”  
  
“You are _totally_ eating your feelings.”  
  
I scowled and flipped him off. “Fuck off, Sirius. Just run along to James’s. Let me enjoy my binge eating of strudels in peace.”  
  
“Why strudels? Why not chocolate croissants?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
“Because there weren’t any in the cupboard. Now leave.”  
  
His smirk wavered and then fell. “I _am_ sorry for whatever I did. Well, I mean, I know _what_ I did, but I’m sorry for whatever you’re mad about.”  
  
I sighed. “It’s not you. I’m mad at myself. Well, at you a little, but more at me. Now please, just leave.”  
  
He nodded and walked back into my room.  
  
“Um, excuse me? Why are you back in my room?” I shouted, stamping over to my bedroom door. “Sirius Black, why are you in my room?”  
  
“Because I need to get my clothes on?”  
  
I felt my cheeks colour and I nodded, though I knew he couldn’t see. I walked back over to the pantry and proceeded to stuff another strudel into my mouth. Merlin, I really loved those strudels. I heard my bedroom door close and I looked over my shoulder to see Sirius, walking over to the front door. He caught my gaze and gave me a small smile.  
  
“By the way, I bought chocolate croissants yesterday. Top shelf.”  
  
I turned back around and stood on my tiptoes, peering into the top shelf. Sure enough, there was a box of chocolate croissants right there. I tried to grab them but my fingers barely grazed the box. Suddenly, another hand closed around the box and I felt Sirius’s other one graze my hip. I froze as he pulled the box down.  
  
I turned and he placed it in my hands, smiling at me. His eyes shone and I saw his gaze flicker down to my lips as they so often did. I felt fluttering in my stomach, and I glanced around his face, not sure what to do. As he leaned closer, I suddenly ripped open the box, grabbed a croissant and shoved it in my mouth.  
  
“Wol, a gueth ou haf oo go.” I said as he stepped back.  
  
“Yeah, I guess I do have to go,” he said ruffling his hair.  
  
Oh, his arms were beautiful when he was doing that! Wait, stop that right now Alexandra James! You are not to think that of Sirius Black from here on out.  
  
As he stepped out the door, I felt something deep in my stomach, and as I heard the crack of him disapparating, suddenly the chocolate croissant in my mouth didn’t taste so good anymore.  
  
  
   
  
“Thank you,” I said to the nurse as she brought me to Cami’s new room.  
  
She nodded and smiled sadly at me as I slowly walked into the white box. Cami’s bed was at the end near the window. I walked over and felt tears well up as I saw her prone form in the cot. Rushing towards the chair next to her, I dropped down and grabbed her hand.  
  
“Oh, Cami. I wish you’d wake up,” I said, squeezing your hand. “I’ve done something really bad. You’d kill me if you found out.” I sighed and felt tears run down my cheeks. “Cami, I think I’ve fallen for Sirius Black.”  
  
**********  
  
 **(Cami’s POV)**  
  
 _The tree was set up, lights dancing along the walls as Mum turned off the large chandelier. The presents for the next day – Christmas Day – were already under the tree. Mum and Dad never bothered to tell us about Santa Claus – something I had found out about when my muggle best friend Anna told me this mysterious man broke into her house every year – which I was grateful for._  
  
 _My parents tried to be as honest to my sister and me as they could be. Mum smiled as she lit a candle and put it on the baby grand piano, sitting down in the process. She put her delicate fingers on the keys and began to play a familiar melody. I walked over to the couch where Dad rested, climbing up and cuddling against him. ‘Dria was in her ‘cage’ as I called it, gurgling and saying gibberish._  
  
 _The ‘cage’ was really just a playpen, but the first five minutes ‘Dria spent in there she screamed bloody murder._  
  
 _Yes, ‘Dria was a difficult child. Mum always complained to Dad about how she was going off her rocker with ‘Dria. Dad always complained about how Mum never got up in the middle of the night to help change ‘Dria or put her back to sleep. I always complained silently about how they always seemed to fight instead of dealing with the real problems at hand._  
  
 _Namely my speech impediment that prevented me from saying Alexandra or even ‘Dra. Or, you know, the fact that I’ve been doing small magic for a year now and they haven’t noticed. But as Mum began to sing, I left all my family problems behind as her calm, clear voice filled the air._  
  
 _“Il est né le divin Enfant,_  
Jouez, hautbois, résonnez, musettes;  
Il est né le divin Enfant;  
Chantons tous son avènement! _…”_  
  
********  
   
  
 _I’d never been able to stay awake during Mum’s rendition of_ Le Divin Enfant _, and the previous night was no different. Waking up to ‘Dria’s cries, I groaned and turned over in my bed. Mum and Dad were arguing about who was going to go quiet her down. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, going to the next room over. ‘Dria’s room was dark but I could hear her cries from her crib._  
  
 _Flipping the light switch, I saw her standing up in her crib, green eyes filled with tears. Mum always said she was a little mini me. She looked exactly like I did when I was younger. There was even two photos of us on the mantle – me from a few years ago – and whenever people came over they assumed it was ‘Dria. Anyways, I walked over to her and lifted her out of her crib. Her whining stopped and she looked at me curiously._  
  
 _Gross she had snot on her chin. I walked over to the bathroom with her in my arms and placed her on her potty. Grabbing a face cloth and dampening it, I wiped the snot and tears away from her face. She gurgled and a snot bubble burst from her nose. I wrinkled my own and wiped it off quickly. Babies were gross. I put the face cloth in the laundry basket in the hall and went back to ‘Dria who was now preoccupied with the toilet lid._  
  
 _Of course. I picked her up, and after making sure her diaper was clean – which it was – I brought her back to her room. Mum and Dad were still arguing as I put her back in her crib, but her whines kept me from going back to my own room. As soon as I took a step away from her, her bottom lip would start to tremble and little whines escaped her pudgy little baby lips._  
  
 _Finally, I picked her up and brought her back to my room. Setting her down on the side of my bed I never used, I walked around and sat down opposite her. Laying her down and tucking her in, I kissed her forehead and lay down myself. Though I had turned off all the lights, I could still see her little baby face glowing, eyes wide open. I reached over and slowly covered her eyes with my hand and she giggled._  
  
 _I smiled but kept my hand there as I heard her breathing slow down. Within two minutes she was asleep, but as I tried to pull my hand back, I felt small fingers hold on tighter. Her small little baby hand had grabbed hold of my pinkie finger and she wasn’t letting go. As Mum and Dad continued to argue about who knows what, I stared at my baby sister, her pudgy baby face calm and serene, untroubled by our parental situation._  
  
 _Her brown curly baby hair framed her face and I saw a small smattering of freckles on her nose. Yeah, she was going to grow up to look just like me. But as I heard a smash from our parents’ room, I winced and shuffled closer, wrapping Alexandra in my arms. She might grow up to_ look _exactly like me, but I sincerely hoped she would never grow up_ exactly _like I had._  
  
  
   
  
I woke up to see ‘Dria in the chair beside me, her hand grasped around my own. She was curled up so her head rested upon her knees and she seemed to be asleep. I squeezed her hand but she didn’t respond. Yup, she’s asleep.  
  
“’Dria,” I whispered. “’Dria.”  
  
She mumbled something incomprehensible and moved a little. I frowned. Waking Alexandra up is not very easy for me.  
  
“’DRIA!”  
  
“Huh? Wha… Am I… Did I… Where am I?” She said, snorting and sitting up straight, letting go of my hand in the process.  
  
“’Dria, you’re in St. Mungo’s. You’re here to visit me…” My voice broke on that last word. “You’re here to visit me because I hurt myself… Again.”  
  
Her eyes were red and I felt tears well up in my own as she locked gazes with me. No matter how many times she would ask me not to hurt myself… in that way… I would never feel guiltier about it than I had the first time she looked at me, the first time I woke up in a hospital. And the same look she gave me then was the same look she was giving me now. My heart broke. ‘Dria nodded and smoothed out her trousers.  
  
“That I am,” she said coolly. “Cami, would ever be disgusted by me?”  
  
I was taken aback by her question. “Not unless you’ve joined You-Know-Who.”  
  
She looked at the ground and fiddled with her hands. “What if I slept with someone?”  
  
“WHAT?”  
  
“And what if that someone may have been–”  
  
“You hooked up with Sirius Black?” I squealed excitedly.  
  
But while I felt that this event was worth celebration, ‘Dria looked like she was going to be sick. I got why, of course. ‘Dria was always the straight edged of the two of us. And while I supposed I should be mad that my 16 year old sister was hooking up with a man-whore, I couldn’t have been prouder.  
  
Well, I could have been if, I don’t know, she followed in my footsteps and joined a few more clubs at school that didn’t involve quidditch.  
  
But that didn’t matter! My baby sister was no longer a baby! Okay, okay, I realize this makes me seem like a bad sister, but I’m not. I swear. I just have a few questionable priorities. And while I wished ‘Dria could get at least 6 N.E.W.T.s next year, this was better than nothing. But, as the more responsible child, ‘Dria looked mortified.  
  
“Yeah, but that’s not the worst. Cami, when he left, I felt… I don’t know but it didn’t feel good. It felt… really bad. Like, I wanted him to stay.”  
  
My face fell. “Do you fancy him, ‘Dria?” Her face was ashen and I took that as a yes. “Do you think he fancies you back?”  
  
“Cami, this is what he does. He shags a girl and leaves, never to return again. I’ll be lucky if he even tries to talk to me again, but even then, do I really want him to?”  
  
“Yeah, can’t help you there ‘Dria.”  
  
“Cam… Cami… What did I do?”  
  
“You had fun,” I said sharply. “I realize that you think this is really bad, but if the people who will judge you for it don’t know, is it really going to be that bad?”  
  
She gave me a look. “Cami, _I_ know what I did.”  
  
“Yeah, but let me tell you now, don’t you regret it. I get that most girls and some guys _would_ regret it, but I never regretted my first time – this is your first time, right? – and I hope you don’t regret it. Your first time may seem really important, but if you really think about it, it doesn’t have to be. Just try and forget about it.”  
  
“But Cam, what if I _really_ fancy him?”  
  
I rolled my eyes. “Then don’t forget about it!”  
  
“But it’s Sirius Black! The resident playboy of Hogwarts. He’s a slag!”  
  
“You know what, ‘Dria? I don’t care. Forget about it, don’t forget about it. Just don’t bother me while I’m on my death bed.”  
  
Her nostrils flared and her eyes hardened. “Only because you tried to kill yourself, you bint.”  
  
I blinked. ‘Dria was never this harsh to me. I knew she resented me a little, and that cut deep, but she was never mean to my face.  
  
“’Dria, what’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing her hand.  
  
She pulled her hand away and glared at me. “You were the only one who tried to stay with me. Mum left, Dad was an arse and eventually took a gun to his head, Auntie and the cousins were never really family. You were the only one I had left. And then you tried to leave me.” She got up and walked over to the ward door. “And then when I had you back, you tried to leave again. And I can’t deal with this shit. Charlie was becoming distant earlier this year, I just had the guy I shagged leave me. If you try to leave me one more time, I’ll snap.”  
  
We were quiet for a moment before I spoke up.  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
“ _No_. You don’t get to say you’re _sorry_.”  
  
I fiddled with my fingers, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know what I’m doing when I do that…” She looked at me curiously. “I don’t know what I’m doing when I do it. It just happens.”  
  
She looked at me, her eyes hard, and walked out.  
  
  
   
  
 **(Lexi’s POV)**  
  
She _didn’t know_ what she was doing? Bullshit! Merlin, I hated talking to my sister. Stomping down the St. Mungo’s stairs, I stormed across the waiting room only to crash into someone. I almost fell over but their hands shot out and wrapped around my waist and right wrist. Looking up, I saw familiar grey eyes. I tensed up and so did he.  
  
“Fancy meeting you here,” Sirius Black said in his silky voice.  
  
“Yeah, fancy that,” I said awkwardly.  
  
He didn’t move away from me and I stayed right there in his arms. It felt good, but the awkwardness between us was not ignored. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Potter staring at us over the top of the magazine he was reading. Not very subtle. Two people, who seemed to be Potter’s parents, were sitting to his right, also trying to be subtle in their staring, also failing at it miserably.  
  
“Visiting your sister, Ace?”  
  
I nodded slowly, not taking my eyes off of him. The hand he had on my wrist burned, the arm around my waist seared. As an honest to goodness witch, I was being burned at the stake. The stake in question? Sirius Black. I couldn’t get away, although that may have been from lack of trying.  
  
“Look, Ace. I think we need to talk.”  
  
I felt my cheeks burn and my stomach turn. “Talk? We can talk! Talking is fun. Well, let’s start with this. My name is Alexandra James, although I’d rather you call me Lexi, although you never seem to, you call me Ace a lot. There’s a big fuck you coming your way for that, by the way." I began to breathe faster, my voice rising. "My birthday is in April, so I’m still 16, although judging by my immaturity in some situations, my friends think I’m six.    
  
"My hair is really thick and I hate it sometimes, but I like the colour, so that’s okay, I guess. My eyes are green, just like my sister. Actually, I look a lot like my sister. Have you noticed? I’m in Ravenclaw and I’m on the quidditch team as a beater. I’m scared of spiders, heights and death. I have commitment and abandonment issues, although I selfq-diagnosed myself with that, so I’m not too sure how true that is."  
  
The volume of my voice was creeping up ever so sightly and I saw Potter's parents stand up but Potter grabbed his mum's arm and pulled her back.  
  
"At restaurants I always arrange the sugar packets or the milk thingys when I get nervous or bored. I used to hate the colour green, but I don’t now. I try and arrange my candy by colour and eat it accordingly. I love smarties but I hate M&M’s. I’ve never had an animal, but I’ve always wanted a dog or a cat or a ferret. I love to read science-fiction novels, particularly apocalyptic-slash-post-apocalyptic books.  
  
"I also love romance novels, but not those creepy romance novels as in all about people shagging, but more like they end up together in the end. I have a guilty pleasure for muggle television shows, but I haven’t been able to watch them for a little while. I love chocolate, but not pure chocolate, it has to have something in it, like nuts or caramel, but no dark chocolate. I _hate_ dark chocolate."  
  
I was now sure about half of the waiting room could hear me, but I honestly didn't care.  
  
"I don’t know what I want to do after Hogwarts, but I’m thinking of going pro with quidditch. I hate skirts, so the Hogwarts uniform sucks, but I always wear shorts underneath. I’ve always hated the quidditch banquet at the end of the year because I’ve always had to wear a dress – I hate those too by the way, but maybe not so much now – although the food is pretty good.  
  
" I hate running but I also love it, which I don’t understand. I love painting my nails, but they always chip. I love pizza for breakfast and waffles for dinner.” I stopped and took a breather. “I talked. Now I’m going to go home, because I don’t think I can deal with you right now.”  
  
Yanking myself out of his grasp, I wrapped my own arms around me, a little embarrassed as I realized I was wearing his jumper. Taking a few steps backwards, I kept my eyes on him and then I walked past, heading for the door. Awkwardness be damned, that was just plain weird.  
  
  
   
  
 **(Sirius’s POV)**  
  
“Prongs, do you know what Smarties are?” I asked my best mate as I waited on the Healer’s bed-table thing.  
  
He glanced up at me from his copy of _Quidditch Weekly_. “No, what? Smarties? Funny word. Never heard of them, not even today. Where’d you hear about those? Also, what was that scene about?”  
  
“Lex said something about loving Smarties but hating M&M’s. I was curious," I said ignoring his last comment.  
  
“You can always ask Lily.”  
  
He didn't press the issue, which I was glad about.  
  
I snorted. “How I am supposed to ask Lily _anything_ if you always ask her out? She hates it when you do so and it makes her angry. And an angry Lily means a shutdown Lily.”  
  
James sighed. “How about I don’t ask her out. I’ve gotten quite good at it, actually.”  
  
“I realize. How long’s it been?”  
  
“Three weeks.”  
  
I whistled. “Great job, Prongs. Okay, so how will I get in touch with her? I’d rather not wait for school.”  
  
“Wow,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s only a few days, Padfoot. You’ll survive.”  
  
“Proooooooongs!” I whined. “I know you’re corresponding with her. Just ask about it in your next letter.”  
  
He rolled his eyes but conceded. I reached over and hugged him but he sprang apart as the door opened and the Healer walked in. Once I got to James’s house, his parents had demanded to know the whole story, and once I told them they had immediately made an appointment with their family Healer at St. Mungo’s.  
  
As the Healer asked me questions about the event and waved his wand and did some sort of hocus-pocus, I could see James staring at me from above _Quidditch Weekly_. He was suspicious about something. Probably about me wanting to get in touch with Lily, but I knew that he knew I wasn’t hitting on Lily.  
  
At least, I hoped he knew that. But I knew as soon as the Healer left he would say something. And low and behold, as soon as the Healer walked out the door, he threw _Quidditch Weekly_ across the room and bounced over to me.  
  
“What are you planning, Padfoot?”  
  
I smirked. “Nothing that you need to occupy yourself with, mate.”  
  
“You like her,” he gasped after a single moment of silence. “You really like her.”  
  
I laughed. “No I don’t Prongs.”  
  
“Yes, you do, you numpty!”  
  
“No. I. Don’t,” I said through clenched teeth.  
  
He giggled like a school girl. “Yes you do. You fancy her. Fancy the _pants_ off her!”  
  
Then, slapping me in the face, he cackled and ran out of the room. I swore and ran after him.  
  
  
   
  
 **(Lexi’s POV)**  
  
We had been back at Hogwarts for three weeks. I had been avoiding Sirius for three weeks. Charlie had been oblivious to my avoidance of Sirius for three weeks. Carter had been freaking out for three weeks because Amelia had gotten a concussion while playing football with the muggle side of her family.  
  
Apparently her cousin Matthew has one hell of a kick.  
  
But tryouts for the reserve position were being held that coming weekend – a Hogsmeade weekend incidentally – and Carter hadn’t been able to stop talking about it. Of course, I think that might’ve been a factor in Charlie not noticing I was avoiding a certain Gryffindor, considering Carter wouldn’t shut up about Amelia’s ‘incident’ since the first day back. Of course, I was getting a little peeved at him because he kept stealing Charlie away from me to ‘work out his frustration.’  
  
All that meant was using Charlie’s lips as a distraction. But I don’t think she cared. I cared. I hadn’t been able to have any complete girl time since getting back and I really needed that.  
  
So as we walked into Potions class, I huffed angrily as Carter grabbed Charlie’s hand and dragged her over to a table. Charlie looked back at me with a sorry look on her face but I ignored it and dropped down in my normal seat. Taking out a piece of parchment, I began scribbling very descriptive ways of dealing with Carter’s strange attachment to my best friend.  
  
Namely disposing of Carter. Although, Charlie might not be okay with that. Just as I was about to sketch another assassination attempt, someone dropped down beside me. I ignored them and continued to draw.  
  
“You know, for a best friend, you’re really trying to kill off her boyfriend.”  
  
I tensed as Sirius Black’s silky smooth voice made its way to my ears. Merlin, I thought you were on my side. Blasted dead wizard.  
  
“Yeah, well I miss Charlie, so I can do what I want to the fictional Carter,” I said sharply. “Now go away.”  
  
“No can do. No other seat.”  
  
I turned and glared at him. “What the fuck do you want, Sirius?”  
  
“You called me Sirius,” he said, smirking.  
  
“What the fuck do you want, _Black_.”  
  
Annoyingly, his smirk didn’t fall. “I got a question for you, Ace.”  
  
“Fuck you.”  
  
“Ooh, harsh. Anyways, want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?”  
  
“I have tryouts,” I said coldly. “And even if I didn’t, I’d still say no.”  
  
He smirked. “Oh come on, Ace.”  
  
“N. O.”  
  
“Come on. I feel like a prick for… well what I did, without taking you out on a proper date. Just let me clear my conscious.”  
  
I spun around so fast my neck cracked. “Wow. Way to sweep me off my feet Prince Not-So-Charming. I’m just part of some sort of conscious-clearing plan?” I laughed harshly. “Like I said already: fuck you.”  
  
He rolled his eyes. “Please. I feel like you deserve better than what I’ve already given you. Just go out with me. Two hours of your time on Sunday. I promise that afterwards, I’ll try and stay out of your life as much as possible.”  
  
“And if I still say no?”  
  
He smirked. “Well then, I’ll become even more insistent than James with Lily.” With that he leaned closer and slowly dragged his finger down my arm, his lips inches from my face. “But unlike James,” he leaned closer and kissed my cheek, “I’m a lot more subtle.”  
  
I felt my cheeks flush and as he looked back to the front where Professor Slughorn was talking about something or other, I stared around the room and was surprised that absolutely no one had noticed what Sirius had been doing. As I looked down at my parchment, I saw scratching at the edge.  
  
Looking closer, I saw the words ‘ _Go out with me_ ’ in sprawling handwriting. I frowned and scribbled it out. As I tried to listen to (well, tune out) Slughorn, I began to just scribble on my parchment again, but my hand stilled as I saw Sirius pass something to me. I looked at the parchment suspiciously for a few seconds before opening it.  
  
‘ _Please go out with me. I swear it’ll be fun!_ ’  
  
I pursed my lips and threw the parchment back at him. Turning back to my own scribbled on parchment, I froze in surprise as I saw the words ‘ _Go out with me_ ,’ ‘ _Please_ ,’ ‘ _It’ll be fun_ ’ and ‘ _I’ll even pay!_ ’ I growled and shoved the parchment aside.  
  
Listening to Slughorn even more intently than before (meaning I was ignoring him and trying to figure out how exactly he managed to get those robes on – the buttons seemed to stay on only by some charm. But just as I was really getting into the listening part, (meaning I was just about to doze off) I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I glared at Sirius who had his finger inches from my arm.  
  
“ _Fine_ ,” I hissed. “I’ll go out with you, _once_. Now let me go about this class in peace.”  
  
Sirius smirked and held up a quill. “I was just going to say you dropped this, but okay.”  
  
I growled and turned back to the lesson, annoyed with the idiot behind me. _It’s only two hours_ , I thought to myself. _Two hours and then you can hex him into oblivion!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Yay! Stuff happened! Sorry about the ever-changing POV’s by the way, but it was the way I needed it to be. And yay! Dates! Things! Explanations! Read, review, favorite, follow, do what you have to do, but please, please, please review. Thanks to my Beta (you know who you are *winky face*) and all those who reviewed that last chapter! You make this story keep going! If I’m correct, there will be a party POV, and this one will be from James’s POV, which may explain a few things about the Jily part of the story. So yay! Maraudertimes out!  
> P.S. The song is a French Christmas carol that my own mum used to sing to me, so as for where I got it, my own memory. It roughly translates to:
> 
> He is born, the divine child  
> Play hautbois (its a type of flute), ring musettes (a type of trumpet)   
> He is born, the divine child,   
> Let's all sing out happiness.


	19. Phil, Picnics and Screams in the Corridor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picnic on the quidditch pitch... Not exceptionally original. Getting hexed an hour after the date... I have to give him credit for that one. Especially considering I didn't get any sleep. I'm the new Alexandra James. Call me Lexi. And for once, my life doesn't suck and is not the one in danger...

**LEXI'S POV**  
  
 **  
**  
  
“So where are we going and what are we doing?” I asked suspiciously.  
  
Sirius just smirked and waggled his eyebrows. I frowned. I didn’t like this not knowing. It was cold out, I had just been through the worst reserve tryout ever and people were staring at Sirius and me as we walked down the path to Hogsmeade. I had kept a considerable amount of distance between us, but I guess it didn’t matter how much space was between two people.  
  
Others would talk if it was a date and one party was the infamously sexy Sirius Black. Er, the infamous Sirius Black. It didn’t even matter that I had made it clear to the Sirius Black Fan Club that morning that I had no interest in  _actually_  dating him (their president, Ramona Harnett, had cornered me in the hallway before breakfast and threatened to bald me if I was actually going through with the ‘relationship’).  
  
We had just walked past The Three Broomsticks when Sirius finally spoke up.  
  
“The stares and whispers are something, aren’t they?” He asked quietly as he gave a curt nod to two girls who were conversing in hushed whispers that were walking past. He rolled his eyes as they giggled and blushed. “It’s like this all the time. I’m really sorry.”  
  
I shrugged. “Not  _technically_  your fault.”  
  
He gave me a grateful smile. As we continued walking, I began to tense up as we reached Madame Puddifoot’s. I gave Sirius an incredulous look.  
  
“ _Madame Puddifoot’s_? What possessed you to pick  _this_  place?”  
  
“Trust me, it’s not what it seems.”  
  
“It seems like a place that ate Valentine’s Day and spit it back out in the form of hanging Cupids and Heart shaped cups.”  
  
“Well, yeah. But we’re not here for that. Trust me, we aren’t staying.”  
  
I sighed and walked in as Sirius held open the door. As soon as the door slowly shut, the smell of roses and freesias and lilies and every other flower you can think of, bombarded my nose. I sneezed three times before Sirius ushered me towards a door labeled ‘Kitchen.’ I quickly ran in, wheezing, trying to get fresh air.  
  
As I took one step into the kitchen though, I bumped into someone and would’ve fallen over had Sirius not caught me. Looking up, I saw a very handsome guy with a picnic basket. Like,  _very_  handsome. So handsome I was slightly pissed off at Sirius for being my – shudder – date.  
  
“Hey Phil,” Sirius said, taking the basket from the  _very_  hot guy and handing him a small bag.  
  
The hot boy smiled. “Hey Sirius. Who’s the lady friend?”  
  
I almost fell over again. Even his voice was sexy. But as I felt Sirius’s hand on the small of my back, I remembered  _who_ I was with.  
  
“This is Lexi. The girl I may have put in St. Mungo’s,” Sirius said cheerfully.  
  
Bastard. Sending me into surgery is nothing to be happy about. But as ‘Phil’ took my hand and kissed it, I forgot about everything else.  
  
“Pleasure to meet you, Lexi.”  
  
“The pleasure’s all mine,” I giggled, not taking my hand out of his.  
  
Oh shit! I giggled. Like someone who would be in Sirius’s Fan Club. But with his pretty blue eyes and his tousled blonde hair, I almost didn’t care that I sounded like a bint. Sirius did, I guess, because he pressed his hand to my back and uttered a goodbye to Phil.  
  
Just as I was about to turn around and leave, Phil winked at me and I felt butterflies in my stomach. As Sirius grabbed my hand and dragged me out of Madame Puddifoot’s, I sighed contentedly.  
  
“Who’s Phil and where did you meet him?” I asked, giggling. Again.  
  
“He’s one of James’s distant cousin’s ex. But since he’s a good chef, we marauders have always kept in touch, just in case we needed him. He’s also 21 and has a longer list of exes than I do.”  
  
“Well he is  _gorgeous_! If he’s only five years older, why haven’t I ever heard of him?” I asked dreamily.  
  
“You probably have. Alvarek Phillips? He’s tried to date your sister, I bet. Ravenclaw, not too into quidditch, snogged every girl in his year, charmed Dumbledore’s beard to change colours during the Welcome Back feast when we were in second year,” Sirius said harshly.  
  
“That was  _him_?” I asked incredulously. “Oh Merlin! Now I have to go back and talk to him. Do you think he’d give me pointers?”  
  
“He’d give you something all right,” Sirius muttered pointedly.  
  
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.” He huffed and kept walking, letting me having to run to catch up. “Look, I’m sorry I’m not all that into this, but I promise that starting now, I will try.”  
  
“Thank you,” Sirius said, a little disgruntled.  
  
I let a deep breath out and looked around the Hogsmeade streets as we made our way back up to Hogwarts. A little bit of snow covered the ground and as we continued our walk, I realized he still hadn’t let go of my hand. And I was strangely okay with that. But as we neared the castle, I glanced over at him.  
  
“Sirius, where are we going?” I asked suspiciously.  
  
I did  _not_  want to be  _seen_  on a date with Sirius Black  _in_  Hogwarts. That would completely ruin me. Because people would believe that I voluntarily took some of my weekend time to hang out with him. Not that he had asked me on a date and I reluctantly agreed after he promised that he would leave me alone afterwards.  
  
Which was what was happening and what I told the rest of Hogwarts. But as we neared the quidditch pitch, I relaxed a little. No one was ever on the quidditch pitch during Hogsmeade weekends. Well, no one except the Ravenclaw quidditch team who had needed to find a reserve chaser – thanks Amelia! – but as I was free from quidditch, the Ravenclaw team  _definitely_  wasn’t there.  
  
Sirius dragged me onto the quidditch pitch, careful to avoid the extremely icy or muddy parts. As we neared the middle of the pitch, I saw a small patch where the snow seemed to be avoiding the grass. Dry and smooth, Sirius brought me over to the patch and then pulled a purple blanket out of the basket. Laying it on the dry patch, he sat down. I stayed standing, staring down at him.  
  
“Did you seriously drag me all around Hogsmeade just to bring me back to the quidditch pitch for a picnic? And what’s with the blanket? Purple? Really?”  
  
“What’s wrong with purple?” He frowned, reaching up and grabbing my hand.  
  
I smirked. “Sorry, just thought a manly man like you wouldn’t dream of being seen with a purple picnic blanket.”  
  
He smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. “Manly man, am I?”  
  
“Oh, I guess you’re right,” I said deviously, taking his other hand and smirking at him from my standing position. “You couldn’t possibly be a manly man. The purple makes sense now.”  
  
He pouted. “I am too a manly man!”  
  
“I’m sorry, Sirius, but you really aren’t,” I laughed, raising one eyebrow coyly.  
  
He looked me right in the eye and smiled and I felt my stomach flop. Faster than I could process, he pulled me down on top of him and then flipped over so that he was straddling me, my hands pinned to my sides. I frowned and he smirked.  
  
“I think this proves I’m a manly man,” he said, leaning closer and pressing his nose against mine, not breaking eye contact.  
  
I felt all my muscles tighten and my smile fell. Lowering my eyes and breaking the eye contact myself, I felt Sirius let go of my hands and rolling off of me. Closing my eyes and sighing, I sat up and looked over at him. Trying to make things less awkward, he was now rummaging through the picnic basket. That only made things more awkward. He pulled out a small jar of brown something or other – I stared at that a little cautiously – and a carton of strawberries. Turning to me, he smiled awkwardly.  
  
“Strawberries and chocolate fondue?”  
  
I smiled. “Lose the strawberries and you’ve got yourself a deal.”  
  


* * *

  
  
   
  
“I still can’t believe you got me Smarties,” I gushed, popping one of the candies into my mouth. “When I yelled at you in St. Mungo’s, I didn’t think you’d actually listen.”  
  
He frowned. “Why not?”  
  
Shrugging, I said, “Well it hasn’t been since this year that you’ve actually expressed an interest in me. I still have a suspicion that you aren’t being entirely honest about why you tried to ‘get to know me.’”  
  
“Ace, you are a pretty, interesting, smart, funny, surprisingly pessimistic and sarcastic girl that can hit a bludger almost as well as I can and can sure as hell stay on a broom better.”  
  
I laughed. “Yeah, too bad I don’t have your impossibly hard skull or I would be the complete package; no trips to St. Mungo’s included.”  
  
He smiled. “Sorry about that. Again.”  
  
I shrugged. “Shit happens. And anyways, if I hadn’t gone to St. Mungo’s, how else would I have gotten the amazing jumper I have stashed in my room?”  
  
“I’m sure you would’ve found a way. You can be  _very_  persuasive, Ace.”  
  
I stiffened and his joking face fell.  
  
“Oh shit! Sorry! Bloody hell, why do I keep doing this? I’m really not good at this.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled sheepishly. “Usually this situation is reversed. I take a girl out on a date and then we get plastered and  _then_  we, you know…”  
  
I nodded stiffly. “I know your reputation, Sirius. If I was scared about it, I wouldn’t have agreed to this date, even if you did coerce the agreement out of me.”  
  
He smiled and I let the corners of my mouth flip up a little bit. While I did feel extremely awkward around him, I also felt extremely comfortable. Stealing another finger-full of chocolate fondue – there were no spoons – I openly smiled at him.  
  
“So tryouts…” He started, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Oh Merlin! Don’t even get me started! Half the people there just wanted to ask if it was true that Charlie had Lupin’s illegitimate child over the Christmas holidays.  _Apparently_ , someone started a rumour that she was pregnant.”  
  
I stared pointedly at Sirius and he blanched.  
  
“I swear, I didn’t!”  
  
I stayed silent, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“I didn’t! I wouldn’t do that! I swear on my life!”  
  
“I know. I just wanted to make you squirm.”  
  
“Devilish girl, Ace.”  
  
I smirked. “Takes one to know one!”  
  
“So you’re saying I’m devilish.” He seemed to ponder it for a moment. “I concur. I have been known to pull very devious pranks.”  
  
“I meant devilish  _girl_ , but whatever…”  
  
I shrieked as he growled and launched himself at me, rolling us around onto the wet snow. I shrieked again as we rolled onto some snow and the iciness crept along the edges of my coat. As he tried to stay on top of me, I smirked and shifted my weight, successfully flipping us so that now I was straddling him, his arms pinned to his sides.  
  
“What’s that about being a manly man?” I teased, not making a move to get off.  
  
Suddenly I felt self-conscious as I saw his awestruck eyes travel over me. Standing up and walking back over to the dry blanket, I sat down and popped another smartie into my mouth. Sirius soon joined me.  
  
“Are you trying not to lead me on?” He asked, fiddling with the edge of the blanket.  
  
I almost choked on the smartie as I started in surprise. “What? No! It’s not – It’s just – I just – Could we just… I don’t know…”  
  
He raised an eyebrow at me. “What’s not to know?”  
  
“Well, for starters, I still have this strange suspicion about your reason for asking me on this date. I honestly don’t believe that you just wanted to ‘clear your conscience.’”  
  
He shrugged. “There might have been another reason…”  
  
I felt my stomach roll and a metallic taste filled my mouth. This was it. He was going to tell me he never really had an interest in me. He shagged me and then decided this was the easiest way to let me down. He was going to tell me not to pine over him; to let it go.  
  
“It was a bet.”  
  
I felt my heart drop and tears prickled in my eyes as I processed the words. It wasn’t even that he thought I was pretty or smart or funny or interesting. I was just some contest between him and his friends, the other marauders most likely. Out of all the possibilities, I felt that this must’ve been the worst. I glanced away but almost as soon as I moved my head, I felt his hand on my shoulder.  
  
“Damn, that came out wrong. Okay, asking you out was a bet. I’d been gushing about you to James, Remus and Peter and they’d been getting tired of it.” I looked back at him and he smiled. “I won 30 galleons off of James because he bet me I wouldn’t be able to pluck up the courage within a month.”  
  
I smiled shakily. “James bet you  _30_  galleons? Just to ask me out?”  
  
“Well, kind of.” He smirked. “Ten were to ask you out, ten were for you to say yes and ten was from me betting him I could get you to say yes before Lily ever says yes to him.”  
  
“Well then, I think you owe me 5 galleons,” I said, shrugging off his hand and reaching into the picnic basket to grab another handful of smarties. He gave me a quizzical look. “Without me saying yes, you wouldn’t have gotten ten of those galleons.”  
  
He smiled hesitantly. “Are you sure I should be paying you? Doesn’t that give off the wrong impression?”  
  
I smiled and handed him a few candies. “What do you mean? We are just two acquaintances getting to know each other after one of us sent the other one of us to St. Mungo’s – and no, I’ll never let that go – and then crashed at her flat for a little while over the Christmas holidays. If we get money out of said occasion, why shouldn’t we split it?”  
  
He smiled and chucked a smartie at me. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”  
  
“What? My gorgeous face and bubbly personality weren’t enough?” I teased. “You just needed a logical thinker as well?”  
  
“Gorgeous? Check. Bubbly personality? Maybe not. Logical thinker? I’m going to say definitely. Also add in the fact that you don’t put up with my bullshit.”  
  
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Like, if I told you I was going out with another girl after we’d been in a relationship for a few weeks, you wouldn’t yell at me but forgive me, or even be slightly okay with it. I’m betting that you’d hex me and then leave me out here, paralyzed and doomed to freeze to death.”  
  
I pursed my lips. “You’re not wrong.”  
  
He smiled. “And you don’t feed my big ego.”  
  
“What’s there to feed?” I laughed half-heartedly. “You’re a decent quidditch player, your looks are slightly above average and you can’t charm your way out of a lavatory. Seriously, I don’t think you’re that awesome.” He started giggling and I frowned at him. “What? You really aren’t!”  
  
“No, it’s not that. You said  _seriously_! And I’m  _Sirius_!”  
  
As he dissolved into a fit of laughter, I rolled my eyes and stood up.  
  
“Well, it’s been good. The date was – surprisingly – very nice. But I think I’m going to go.”  
  
That sobered him up a bit. “What? Why?”  
  
I smiled awkwardly. “Well, it’s been two hours and I’m getting a little tired of the picnic on the quidditch field. I spend most of my time either dreaming about being on one or actually being on one, so it gets kind of boring after a while. Also, I still have some homework that needs to be done, so I think I’ll just go do that.”  
  
“Oh come on Ace! Stay with me a little longer?”  
  
I shook my head. “I really can’t. It’s been fun though.”  
  
“So fun we should do it again?”  
  
I smiled coyly. “What, pray tell, are you asking me, Mr. Black?”  
  
His eyes clouded over for a moment at my use of his last name, but they quickly returned to normal, their twinkle alight.  
  
“Ms. Ace,” – I frowned at that – “would you do me the honour of agreeing to accompany me on what we shall deem a second date?”  
  
My frown lifted and I let the corners of my lips turn up slightly. “I think I might. Tell me the plan next time we see each other and I’ll decide.”  
  
He smiled and stood up to face me. I realized just how tall he was as he came closer.  
  
“Then, Ace, would you do me the honour of a proper goodbye?”  
  
I pursed my lips and stuck out my hand, grabbing his and shaking it. He frowned and I smirked.  
  
“’Tis proper,” I said, playing with our formal game.  
  
He finally smiled. “So ‘tis. Now m’lady, I must be off towards the classroom commonly refered to as DADA. There are some matters I must speak of with our dearest professor. And I expect you to be returning to your second home: the library?”  
  
I nodded. “Feel free not to join me.”  
  
“Oh, I won’t. Libraries scare me.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Not  _all_  libraries. Just the ones with Madame Pince.”  
  
I giggled and nodded. “She scares me too sometimes. But anyways, I’ll be off. See you later?”  
  
He nodded. “Cross my heart!”  
  


* * *

  
  
   
  
Amelia and I were walking down to the library when I heard the scream. High-pitched and feminine, it scratched at my eardrums, pounding in my head.  I looked over at Amelia whose face was slack with surprise. She looked over at me and we both began to sprint towards the continuous scream.  
  
The walls passed in a blur as we ran down stairs and hallways, our steps reverberating around the quiet halls. For a weekend, there was hardly anyone in the corridors. But as we blew past people, they followed us, jerked out of their reverie by the sight of us sprinting along. When we finally found our way to the dungeons, the screaming stopped.  
  
We halted immediately at the sight of a group of people already grouped together at the end of the corridor. Grabbing Amelia’s arm, I skirted along the edges of the small group until I found a spot to weasel my way to the front to see what was happening. But as soon as I was able to get a glance at what was happening, someone stepped in front of me. I looked up to see Regulus Black, his face stony.  
  
“You don’t want to see this, Lexi. I know how much he means to you, no matter how much you deny it.”  
  
I looked at Amelia. He couldn’t mean… That couldn’t mean… I pushed past Regulus and gasped as I saw the sight before me.  
  
Professor McLaren was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her limbs splayed in broken patterns. A trickle of blood was running down from her mouth and I felt my stomach turn as I realized that one of her eyes was open, staring up at the ceiling, unblinking.  
  
But then I looked past her and saw a large figure, hunched over and lying in the fetal position. Wild black hair and a familiarity about it drove me to slowly make my way over, dropping to my knees and placing my hand on the figure’s shoulder.  
  
A harsh breath made me jerk back, but as the figure slowly unclenched his muscles and let his head roll back to stare at me with pained eyes that rolled back into his head as he began to convulse, his mouth foaming. I began to scream, grabbing Sirius’s face and trying to keep his head still as he shook and jerked about.  
  
“HELP ME!” I shrieked, feeling tears roll down my cheeks. “SOMEONE GET DUMBLDORE!  _HELP ME_!”  
  
I heard mutters from the crowd surrounding the scene, but no one seemed to be doing anything. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, most were standing there, staring at the scene in raptured horror. Amelia had her hands cupping her mouth, crying at what she saw.  
  
Regulus had his arms around her and glancing around to make sure no one else saw, he began to rub at one of his eyes. I couldn’t feel angry at him though. Amelia had told me that Regulus still wasn’t completely assimilated with all the creepy Slytherins, and that any kind of interaction with his brother, any Gryffindor or a muggleborn that didn’t end in a hex or the utterance of horrible words and threats was reason for them to make him even more of an outcast.  
  
And Amelia, though tough at quidditch, was not good with this sort of thing. But everyone else was staring, paralyzed by the sight and doing nothing, had no reason to just stand there.  
  
“ _Please_ …” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I need help.  _He_  needs help.”  
  
Suddenly, a great commotion started at the outer edge of the crowd and Professor McGonagall pushed through. She took one look at the broken body of Professor McLaren and then at the seizing Sirius and clapped a hand over her mouth. I had never seen her so terrified. She locked eyes with me and hurried over, keeping her cloak away from the pool of blood under my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as she did.  
  
“Miss James,” she said shakily, “what happened?”  
  
I sniffed, feeling the tears rush down my face. “We… we… we were on a date, you see. I left because I still had some homework to finish and he told me he’d try and see me later after he… He was going to talk to Professor… to Professor… he was going to go talk to her about something.” I took a shaky breath and turned back to Sirius who was still seizing. “And then I heard the screaming and ran down and I saw the crowd and I pushed through and I saw Sirius and he started convulsing and I didn’t know what to do and… and… and…”  
  
I dissolved into tears as Sirius’s head struggled in my grasp. It was all I could do to keep him from braining himself on the floor. I felt McGonagall place a hand on my shoulder as I wept. After a few seconds, she had another student ear me away and hold onto me as she levitated Sirius and had Professor Flitwick – who had arrived with her, I just hadn’t noticed – do the same to Professor McLaren.  
  
As I broke down and fought against the person holding onto me, I finally managed to get myself free and ran after my professors. As I caught up to them, McGonagall gave me a disapproving look but I didn’t care. As we walked down to the Hospital Wing, I heard a cry from behind us and I turned.  
  
Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew were running down the corridor. They all looked terrified and when they finally reached me, they started to stare at their friend’s prone body hovering in the air a few feet in front of McGonagall.  
  
“What happened?” Lupin said, glancing from me to Sirius’s jerking body.  
  
I shrugged, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to metaphorically keep myself together. “I heard screams and when I got there, the professor and Sirius were on the ground. I don’t think McLaren’s going to make it, and Sirius… he’s been having seizures.”  
  
Lupin nodded and put a hand around my shoulders, his arm strong and sturdy. Potter came around to my other side and threaded his arm around my waist.  
  
“How did the date go?” Potter asked, squeezing my waist.  
  
I glared at him. “Potter, you honestly think I want to talk about that  _now_?”  
  
He shrugged, his black hair falling into his eyes. His brown eyes were worried behind his black round glasses and his mouth was stretched thin in a displeased line.  
  
“Just trying to distract you.”  
  
I sighed and leaned into him. “Thank you. The date was nice. Fine. Average. I agreed to another.” I glanced at Potter who smiled a little. “You’ve got to tell him to amp it up next time. A picnic on the quidditch pitch? Not a very interesting date.”  
  
“What is then?” Potter asked, turning to look at me.  
  
I felt more tears run down my face and I sniffled. “Not something involving the Hogwarts quidditch pitch, and definitely not fruit or vegetables. And  _definitely_  not Madame Puddifoot’s!”  
  
Lupin laughed. “I told him not to bring you there, even if it was just to get the basket. Told him it might scare you off prematurely.”  
  
I finally smiled. “He should’ve listened. It very nearly did.”  
  
We finally reached the Hospital Wing and McGonagall gave us a look. We understood what she meant and we waited outside as she brought Sirius in behind Flitwick and McLaren and closed the door. I wiggled out of the boys’ holds and sat down, my back against the wall. Potter sat down next to me and Pettigrew on the other side, Lupin next to him. I rested my head against Pettigrew’s shoulder.  
  
“I don’t know why I like him, but it’s scary. It’s scary to think of what will happen to him. What’s wrong with me?”  
  
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Pettigrew said. “You’re a sixteen year old girl, hung up on a seventeen year old boy and vice versa. You found your DADA professor lying in a pool of her own blood and then the guy you went out with not three hours ago lying a few feet away, seizing uncontrollably. It’s not because there’s something wrong with you that you’re scared of what will happen to Sirius. It’s because you’re in shock and you have feelings for the boy.”  
  
I laughed a few throaty times. “Thanks Peter.”  
  
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and Potter grabbed my hand as I dissolved into more tears. As I shook and let the boys next to me comfort me, I felt something deep in the pit of my stomach well up. Something had happened. Something – or more accurately  _someone_  – had attacked Professor McLaren and Sirius, and I didn’t know who it was or what their motive was.  
  
Frightful as that may be, I also didn’t know whether either one of them were going to survive. It was almost glaring obvious that McLaren wasn’t, but the convulsing that Sirius had developed at my touch made me wonder if maybe he wouldn’t pull through either. We remained in our spot on the floor for a couple of minutes before McGonagall opened the door to the Hospital Wing  
  
“You four should not be going in, but I’ve talked to Madame Pomfrey,” she said, sighing distractedly. “I’ve contacted the headmaster. He’s currently out, but when he returns he will check on our patients in there.”  
  
“Patients?” I asked, hopefully.  
  
“Yes, both Professor MacLaren and Mr. Black are expected to survive with minimal actual damage. Please be careful when you enter though, because their conditions are still very delicate.”  
  
We nodded and I stood up, tiptoeing into the Hospital Wing. Sirius’s prone form was in the second to last bed and I all but forgot about not making noise as I flew over. I stared down at his peaceful face and felt my eyes water in relief. He was okay. I dropped into the chair beside the hospital cot and sighed, the tightness in my chest disappearing. As I looked over at the foot of his bed, I saw James, Remus and Peter staring at me.  
  
“He’s okay!” I said to them, turning back to Sirius. “He’s okay…”  
  


* * *

  
  
   
  
 **SIRIUS'S POV**  
  
   
  
My eyes felt like sandpaper and my mouth had the distinct taste of rust. I felt like James had run me over with his broomstick, clipping my head in the process. I groaned as I began to crawl out of unconsciousness and almost as soon as I had opened my eyes, I felt one hand slap me and another slam into my mouth to keep me from yelling out.  
  
I opened my eyes completely and sat up, grappling with the arms that were on me. As I wrestled with my assailant, I heard the telltale squeak of a girl and I stopped. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that I was holding the wrists of one Alexandra James. She was glaring at me but her eyes betrayed the relief she felt.  
  
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I hissed, smirking at her.  
  
She continued glaring and wrenched her wrists out of my grasp. “I swear to Merlin, Sirius Black, if you scare me like that again, I’ll kill you myself.”  
  
I blinked, surprised at her response. “Um, Ace, I’m sorry but what do you mean?”  
  
“You almost  _died_!” She hissed, her nostrils flaring. “What the hell happened?”  
  
I looked down, embarrassed at my answer. “I don’t remember. All I do remember is finding Professor McLaren and talking to her, then walking down to the dungeons since she wanted to bring my particular  _predicament_  up with Slughorn. That’s it. Then it goes black. After that, all I remember is your face, your hands on my cheeks, your voice.” I flushed and felt a rush of happiness as I saw that she did as well. “Then McGonagall and Pomfrey talking about how they found me and what sort of condition I was in, but that was jerky and faded quickly. Then, I woke up just now to you slapping me awake and trying to suffocate me.”  
  
“I wasn’t trying to suffocate you! I didn’t want them to wake up. So we could talk.” She whined quietly, turning away to look back at other hospital cots.  
  
I glanced back over her shoulder and saw the shapes of James, Peter and Remus in other hospital cots. I smiled at the fact that my friends weren’t going to leave me in my state of need. But as I looked back at Lexi, my smile fell. She looked absolutely murderous.  
  
“You said you wanted to talk?” I asked in a coy voice.  
  
Her nostrils flared. “If you do something incredibly stupid one more time, I’ll flay you Black. I’ll chop off your fucking head and I’ll display it on a stick for the whole fucking Great Hall to see. So tread lightly arsehat.”  
  
With that she got up off my hospital cot and walked out of the Hospital Wing. My head was spinning. I had absolutely no idea what any of that meant. Although that was nothing new. Whenever Lexi talked, I just kind of heard big words and complex terms.  
  
She made me feel like a second year and it wasn’t even her fault. I just felt so different around her. As I sighed and fell back onto the cot – wincing as my body groaned with pain – I heard a noise from one of the cots where my friends were. Looking over, I saw Remus walking over.  
  
“You awake for all that, Moony?” I asked suspiciously.  
  
He smiled shyly. “I haven’t gone to sleep since you got here. Neither has she. And believe me, it’s been hard. You’ve been in here for two days now.”  
  
I blinked. “You didn’t have to do that, mate.”  
  
“I couldn’t help it,” he shrugged. “You kept slipping in and out of babbling states of semi-consciousness. I was worried.”  
  
“Aw, Moony. You bugger! You  _do_  love me, don’t you?”  
  
He smirked at me. “I’m not the only one who stayed up. And I’m definitely not the one who stayed in a chair, not even bothering to  _try_  and get some sleep.”  
  
I blinked. “If she did that, why is she so mad at me for something I didn’t even do?”  
  
Remus smiled. “It’s because you scared her. She was a wreck. Couldn’t stop crying for at least three hours and kept muttering about what an idiot you were for making her care for you.” I smiled at that; it definitely sounded like Lexi. “But Sirius,” Remus continued and I looked him straight in the eye, giving him my undivided attention, “she really does care for you. Don’t hurt her for the sake of this bet, okay?”  
  
I nodded, feeling a knot in my stomach. “Remus, I can promise you this is no longer just for a bet.”  
  
“I thought so,” he said, nodding. “Peter and James don’t believe me and I don’t think they ever will. But I knew it was more than that.”  
  
“When?” I asked, honestly curious.  
  
“The moment you told me you slept with her. I realized you had told me first, which normally doesn’t happen. You’re much closer to James than to me when it comes to that sort of stuff. I realized you weren’t in this just for the bet anymore. You were in it for the long run.”  
  
I smiled at my friend, feeling my face flame up. “Remus, I think I really am.”


	20. Libraries, Snogging and Traitorous Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You would think that boys would be easier to deal with. Thank Merlin I'm not the only one who has to...

I had avidly avoided Sirius and the Hospital Wing for the next week. I knew why of course, so Charlie’s constant jabs didn’t really have an effect, but they were always there at the back of my mind – I had strong feelings for Sirius, and I knew that I would end up heartbroken just like every other girl. I was scared to see him, to fall for him even more. Every second I spent with him would make it that much more difficult when he dropped me.  
  
And even though Carter said I was thinking pessimistically, Charlie said to get over myself and see him, and Kendra was being oddly supportive, I wasn’t about to change my mind. Getting over Diggory had been hard enough, but Sirius Black was a charmer. He knew what to say and when to say it. I’m fairly certain that he could’ve gotten Slughorn to actually teach a class if he wanted to.  
  
Of course, Slughorn teaching was a pretty hated event, so if he ever tried that I’d have to knock him unconscious. But that was beside the point. I was fully aware that I fancied Sirius Black. And it killed me to know that all of this would probably end in a week. Kendra had pointed out that his longest ‘relationship’ had been in second year when he and Melody Marchand, a third year, had gone out for three months. I wasn’t expecting it to last long.  
  
So, I was curled up in the library reading a particularly depressing article in Witch Weekly titled ‘What To Do When He’s Done With You.’ Amelia, the only person who had agreed to come with me to the library, had taken one look at the title and scampered off to our regular table, telling me over her shoulder that Regulus should be meting up with her after his Quidditch practice. I had barely acknowledged her before starting on the testimonials of the women who had been ‘wronged by mankind’ – or so the author of the article said.  
  
One woman had married a man who ended up leaving her for her mother – gross. Another had her boyfriend steal all her money so that he could get married to a woman in Brazil whose father was the leader of a drug cartel. Yet another had put her fiancé through Healer training so that he could run off with a nurse trainee and become a tomato farmer. All these stories had me in stitches, silently laughing at the idiocies of these women. They all stated that the men who had left them had ruined their lives, yet their lives weren’t ruined. Sure the men had taken their money and left them for someone else, but it wasn’t as if their careers had been sabotaged, or their families ripped apart.  
  
Okay, the man who ran off with his wife’s mother may have ripped that family apart, but I know for a fact that her family reunion would not be as uncomfortable as some. Take Sirius, for example. If he ever showed up at a family reunion, a pig wouldn’t be the only thing that would be roasted. I sighed as his smirk entered my thoughts and I looked away from the idiotic magazine to see Regulus strolling down the aisle I was in, a small grin on his face.  
  
“I see you’re reading… Witch Weekly? Really, Lexi?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.  
  
I shrugged. “Needed to get my mind off of things.”  
  
“Because you haven’t gone to see Sirius in the Hospital Wing for a week.”  
  
I frowned. “How did you know about that?”  
  
“I went to see him yesterday. Between curses at me – both magical and non-magical – he was muttering about having to talk to you since he hasn’t seen you in a week,” Regulus said, running a hand through his dark hair. “He’s getting out today, you know. So if you’re avoiding him, you better–”  
  
“You better try harder next time.”  
  
Regulus and I both snapped our necks turning to see Sirius leaning against the bookshelf. His easy smirk wasn’t on his face, and his eyes flashed darkly.  
  
“I think I’ll be going. Amelia at our table?” Regulus said, pointing over his shoulder.  
  
I nodded and smiled. “Bye Reg! See you later!”  
  
He smiled uncomfortably and turned, walking away in the direction of our table where Amelia was. I turned back to Sirius and he walked over to me.  
  
“I think we need to talk, Ace,” he said quietly as he sat down next to me.  
  
I stiffened but didn’t move away. “I don’t think we need to talk. In fact, we never need to talk again. We can use sign language. Although I don’t know sign language. Have you ever played charades?”  
  
“Ace, you need to calm down,” Sirius said, nudging me with his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”  
  
I smiled down at the magazine and laughed forcibly. “Nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong? I’m fine! You’re fine! We’re fine, although I suppose we’re not technically a ‘we’ are we?”  
  
I looked over at him, a panicked look on my face. He seemed surprised and looked down, only to have a strange look pass over his face.  
  
“’What To Do When He’s Done With You?’” he said incredulously. “What the hell, Ace? Is this what’s got you in a strop?”  
  
I felt my cheeks redden furiously and I ducked my head. “Shut up, Black.”  
  
“Merlin, Ace! What’s going on in your bloody mind?”  
  
“Nothing! Nothing at all. In fact, there is so much nothing, that we shouldn’t even be talking,” I said, standing up. “I’ll see you around, Sirius.”  
  
But before I could actually leave, Sirius had grabbed my wrist and spun me around. I was partially amazed at how fast the bugger could stand up, but mostly fascinated by his eyes. It was stupid and cliché, but they were stormy and deep and they seemed to be looking into my soul. It was at the same time mesmerizing and making me feel like a girl in those cheesy romance novels that Sydney likes to read; the ones she thinks none of us know about.  
  
“Alexandra James,” Sirius said softly, “tell me what’s wrong.”  
  
I felt tears form in my eyes but I blinked them off. I took a shaky breath before saying, “I’m scared.”  
  
“Of what?” Sirius asked, reaching up to cup my cheek in one hand while placing his other hand on my waist. “Of spiders? I can kill those for you.”  
  
I laughed shakily. “Nah, Kendra’s apparently fearless. She’s got the spiders.”  
  
“Then what’s wrong?” he asked.  
  
I bit my lip and blushed even more. When I tried to look down, Sirius tilted my head up and made me look dead in his eyes.  
  
“What are you scared of?” he asked more forcefully.  
  
I look a deep breath. “Of you.”  
  
“What?!” Sirius looked taken aback. “Lex, what did I do?”  
  
He seemed terrified and I almost laughed, but for the seriousness of the conversation.  
  
“I don’t want to be like the rest of your ‘conquests,’” I said shakily, feeling horrible as his face dropped. “When you were in the Hopital Wing, I… I felt horrible. If you didn’t wake up, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”  
  
Sirius smirked and brought his second hand up to my face. “Ace, I think you like me. That’s nothing to be scared of. It’s what usually happens after two people go on a date and have fun.”  
  
I felt the tears welling in my eyes again but I did nothing to stop them. “But look at your track record. It’s been girl after girl; heartbreak after heartbreak. I’m setting myself up for failure!”  
  
“Merlin, you daft girl,” Sirius said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and looking down. “I promise you that this isn’t like those times. I really truly like you.”  
  
I felt a smile tug at the edges of my lips. “How can I trust you? Aren’t you the infamous Sirius Black? The boy that no girl should trust?”  
  
He chuckled and I couldn’t help giggling as well. He had looked back up at me while I was talking and his eyes were shining.  
  
“What if I told you,” he said, his gaze flickering down to my lips as they always did, “that I think that I’m falling in love with you?”  
  
I stiffened and backed away as he leaned in to kiss me. He seemed surprised and gave me a confused look.  
  
“You’re falling in love with me?” I asked, feeling my head spin as I tried to process everything. “You’re falling in love with me?!”  
  
Sirius dropped his hands and ran one of them through his hair looking about as panicked as I felt. “I’m sorry, that felt rushed. I really should not have said that.”  
  
“No, you really shouldn’t have,” I said slowly. “Because I don’t think I’ll be able to say that back for… a while.”  
  
Sirius smiled, running both of his hands through his hair now. “That’s okay. You don’t have to say it back until you’re ready.”  
  
I felt my breathing quicken and my throat constrict. “Sirius, I don’t know if I’ll be ready for a long time. You do know that, right?”  
  
“I realize.”  
  
“And what happens if I’m never able to say that?” I asked warily.  
  
Sirius smirked and stepped back towards me, wrapping one of his arms around my waist and pulling me towards him. “If you can never even say the word again, I don’t care as long as you kiss me, right now.”  
  
I chuckled nervously but didn’t hesitate in leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. He responded forcefully, and within ten seconds I had to pull away and whisper that if he didn’t stop, Madame Pince would kick us out. He told me he didn’t care so I hit him with the rolled up Witch Weekly.  
  
“Come on,” I chastised, “we are not snogging in the library.”  
  
Sirius smirked and ran his hand up and down one of my arms. “Well then what we were just doing?”  
  
“Celebrating your return from the Hospital Wing,” I grinned. “And we can continue when we’re not in the library.”  
  
Sirius waggled his eyebrows and smirked at me. “Well, we certainly can continue this somewhere else, but before we leave, can I ask what the bloody hell you were doing talking to my brother?”  
  
I stepped back and gave him an incredulous glare. “Do we really have to talk about this now?” When all he did was give me a questioning look, I rolled my eyes. “He’s basically dating Amelia, and to be honest, he’s super sweet.”  
  
Sirius scoffed. “I’m pretty sure you’re just a sucker for the grey eyes. He’s really just a–”  
  
“Well,” I interrupted, “I think your eyes are something else. And would you stop thinking about Regulus. I thought we were supposed to be celebrating your release from the prison of the Hospital Wing.”  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and smirked. “Yes, we were. Now let’s go find an empty classroom or a broom cupboard and continue this.”  
  
“Merlin, you bloody arsehat!” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “You’ve completely ruined that by talking about Reg.”  
  
“It’s Reg now?!”  
  
“Okay, I’m going back to my common room. Owl me when you’re done obsessing.”  
  
“If you leave, I’m going to find the bloody bastard and your pretty little chaser and I will ruin their little study date.”  
  
“If you do that,” I said threateningly, “I promise that the only person you’ll kiss for the next few months is Potter.”  
  
“According to Lily, James isn’t that bad at snogging!” Sirius retorted, grinning at me.  
  
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “If you so much as go near Amelia and Reg today, I’ll curse your hair off.”  
  
“Bloody fine, you crafty minx!”  
  
**********************  
  
“So, he popped the ‘L word’ and you freaked out?”  
  
I jumped and brought my hand to my chest as Charlie stepped out from a hidden alcove. She smiled and kept pace with me, offering me a grape from a small bowl she had in her hand. I shook my head no and she shrugged.  
  
“How did you know about that?” I asked, nudging her with my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered if you had been part of that conversation.”  
  
Charlie shrugged and popped a grape in her mouth. “If you’re going to talk about personal things,” she said, staring straight ahead and smiling, “maybe you should make sure no one’s in the next aisle.”  
  
“Charlie!” I whined, giving her a reproachful look. “How in the hell did you even realize that was happening?”  
  
“Kendra,” she shrugged as if that was a completely valid explanation.  
  
Which it kind of was. Kendra was pretty good at knowing what was happening, when it was happening, and where it was happening. She was some kind of Hogwarts savant.  
  
“Well, next time that happens, do you mind not eavesdropping? What are we supposed to talk about later?” I asked, starting to walk to the common room again.  
  
Charlie shrugged. “How about that Carter and I broke up?”  
  
I stopped again, my eyes popping out. “You and Carter… broke up?!” She nodded and I continued. “Why?!”  
  
“It wasn’t working out. We both decided it was for the best,” she said shrugging. “Amicable break up.”  
  
“What about Quidditch?”  
  
“What about Quidditch? Amicable. Breakup. We both decided it wasn’t for the best. Our playing won’t be affected, I promise.”  
  
I rolled my eyes. “Charlie, are you sure he’s okay with this?” I looked over at her and saw tears forming in her eyes. I hadn’t noticed this before, but her eyes were bloodshot and she kept wringing her hands. “Shit, he’s the one who broke it off. Are you okay with this?”  
  
“Yeah,” she said, sniffling. “Completely. There was an awkwardness from the first break up and it just wasn’t going to work.” She shrugged and smiled sadly for a moment before the armour cracked and the fake happiness fell from her face. “I can’t do this, Lexi. I really thought… I really…”  
  
I felt my chest hurt as tears began to fall from Charlie’s eyes. I pulled her over to the side of the corridor and wrapped my arms around her as she broke down. She began to sob into my shoulder and I immediately wished I had worn an older shirt. That sounds very insensitive, but would you like snot on one of your better shirts?  
  
“Charlie, it’ll be okay,” I soothed, rubbing her back. “Now let’s sit down and cry it out, yeah?”  
  
She sniffled and pulled away from me, rubbing at her eyes. “Okay,” she nodded.  
  
I took her head and walked over to the corridor wall. Sliding down to sit, I let Charlie lean her head on my shoulder when she sat down next to me. I wrapped my left arm around her shoulders and let her cry, saying soothing words every once in a while. At one point, a small second year came running down the corridor and did a double take, but I quickly sent him on his way with a fierce glare. After a few minutes of dead silence other than Charlie’s sobs and a few comforting words from me, Charlie finally blubbered some real words out, but it was so gibberish that I couldn’t understand a thing.  
  
“What was that, Char?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder.  
  
Charlie sniffled and coughed a little before speaking up. “Why do you get a boy who’ll say he’ll love you when you don’t want that? I want that. I want a boy to say he’s falling in love with me. And you don’t want it.”  
  
I squeezed her tight and let out a little giggle. “Yeah, I guess I’m a selfish bitch, aren’t I? If you want, you can have him. Sirius, I mean. Merlin knows that he annoys the bloody hell out of me.”  
  
Charlie laughed and I felt better knowing I could make her happy right then. She turned to me and smiled.  
  
“Nah. Sirius Black isn’t my type,” she said, and her voice broke on the last word. She paused for a moment and then snorted. “Merlin, I sound like the stupid reserve.”  
  
I giggled at that and was glad that Charlie laughed as well. The reserve chaser that Carter had decided on was a fourth year named Marcus who was currently going through an extreme stage of puberty. That particular stage was where his voice had not stabilized, and it took a whole lot of effort not to laugh whenever the little dolt said anything. I’m pretty sure Jackson had to bit his tongue every time the fourth year opened his mouth in order not to burst out laughing and hurt poor Marcus’s feelings, since he kept complaining that he had tasted far too much blood since Marcus joined the team.  
  
“Merlin, that boy is the epitome of prepubescent teenage boy voice,” Charlie giggled. “I swear, I don’t think his voice will ever get deeper.”  
  
I snorted and leaned into her. “Don’t say that. That’ll jinx it! Next practice, he’s going to have a really deep voice and we’ll never have prepubescent boy voice at practice ever again.”  
  
“Well, we could always do some sort of spell work and send Jackson back to that awkward stage,” Charlie volunteered.  
  
“Charlie! Why would we ever do that?” I asked, pretending to be horrified. “What if it goes horribly wrong and he loses that beautiful six pack I’ve come to love?”  
  
We giggled and Charlie wiped the remaining tears off of her face. “Thanks, Lexi,” she said, smiling at me. “You’re a really good friend.”  
  
I smiled and shrugged. “I learned from the best, Char. And you are the best.”  
  
We giggled and hugged and it just felt so right. I hadn’t had best friend time in a long time and I had really missed it. I was about to pull away from the hug, but Charlie tightened her grip on me.  
  
“Lexi, I’m really glad I have you,” she said. “And even though I don’t deserve you sometimes, I’m glad that you stick around.”  
  
“No problem, Char,” I said, closing my eyes and smelling her mint shampoo. I pulled away from her and smiled, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her right ear. “Now let’s go get some food and binge eat to push down these feelings, yeah?”  
  
“I worry about the way you cope with feelings, Lexi.”  
  
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Say that after a box of chocolate croissants.”  
  
**********  
  
When we got back to the common room, a boy with black hair, hazel eyes, and wire-rimmed glasses was lounging on the couch. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but just as I stepped onto the first stair leading up to the dormitory, I froze.  
  
“Potter?” I asked, turning to look at the smirking boy who had his feet up on a coffee table. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”  
  
He stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m waiting for Kendra. Lily got really mad at me and I want to know how to make things better.”  
  
“Do you want us to go up and see if Kendra’s in the dormitory?” Charlie offered.  
  
James looked grateful and nodded a little sadly. “Yeah, thanks!”  
  
We nodded and began to make our way up to our room. As we reached the door, Charlie grabbed the door handle and turned. Opening the door, we heard small whines and the sound of sobs. We walked inside and saw Lily and Kendra on Kendra’s bed, the redhead completely dissolved into tears. I sucked in a breath and hesitated before rushing over.  
  
“What’s wrong?” I asked, completely confused as to what to do. Kendra just shook her head. “Is it James?”  
  
That was obviously the wrong thing to say as Lily began sobbing harder. I was getting tired of these sobbing girls, especially since it was all over guys. I sat on the bed next to Lily and began rubbing circles on her back, not unlike what I had done for Charlie. She tried to say something but none of us seemed to understand her, even if all three of us nodded and muttered our agreement.  
  
Charlie had walked over and sat down next to me on Kendra’s bed, and Lily had somehow managed to lay herself down so that her legs were across Charlie and I, while her head was in Kendra’s lap. Every once in a while she would say something but it would be rendered gibberish by her crying. Finally, Lily began to calm down and wiped the tears off her face, taking in a deep breath.  
  
“Merlin’s beard,” she semi-sobbed, clutching on to Kendra’s legs as if for dear life, “I never knew that boy troubles would be so stressful.”  
  
Kendra began petting Lily’s head, offering her comforting words. I gave Charlie a strange face and she grimaced back at me. After a few minutes of Kendra fawning over the distressed Lily, I sighed disgruntledly and fell back to lie on Kendra’s bed, letting Lily’s legs slip slightly on mine.  
  
“Why are boys so complicated?” I asked no one in particular. “And they say that they can’t understand us. Bloody bastards are confusing!”  
  
“Amen!” Kendra sighed, continue to pat Lily on the head. “Okay darling,” she said to her blubbering friend, “you have to get up now. No more wallowing about what James may or may not have said about your freckles. You’re going to get up, wipe those bloody tears off of your face, and do what Lexi here usually does best.”  
  
We all looked at her quizzically.  
  
“Stare at Sirius and then pretend we weren’t when he looks over?” asked Charlie.  
  
Lily sniffed and then said, “Use ourselves as human bludger shields?”  
  
I felt slightly disgruntled and glared at Kendra, but she just smirked. I shot a look at Charlie too but she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘it’s true.’ Charlie just chuckled at my obvious un-amusement as Kendra piped up again.  
  
“Let’s go to the kitchens and eat to cope with these feelings!” she cried victoriously.  
  
Charlie began guffawing in an entirely unladylike way as Kendra and Lily giggled too. I glared at all of them before sighing and letting out a chuckle as well.  
  
“Am I really that predictable?”  
  
Kendra raised an eyebrow at me. “You have a pack of cookies under your bed that you think no one knows about.”  
  
“Point taken.”  
  
With that, we all got off of the bed and took a minute, fussing over Lily who seemed to be adamant not to leave, for Merlin forbid anyone saw her looking a mess. Once she decided that she was ready, we all walked over to the dormitory door when I remembered something.  
  
“Oh, uh, Lily?” She looked over at me expectantly and I smiled sheepishly. “Before you leave, James is down in the common room.”  
  
Her face went pale and then within a second went red. All of a sudden, she opened the door, stormed out of the dormitory and raced down the girls’ stairs. Kendra, Charlie, and I all looked at each other in confusion for a moment before sprinting after her. We could hear her stomping down the stairs, and I could almost picture her hair becoming actual fire. As the three of us raced down after her, we only just made it down in time to see Lily slap James across the face and then start screaming.  
  
“How dare you saw what you said and then have the audacity to come to my friends’ House common room, to wait for me, when I’ve made it obvious that I do not want to talk to you.” Lily burst into tears again. “Go away, James. I don’t want to talk to you ever again!”  
  
“Oh, come on Lils,” James said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. “You’re just over reacting. Seems like it’s someone’s time of the month!”  
  
With a resounding crack, Lily’s unoccupied hand flew out and caught James across the cheek once again. Her green eyes burned as she went from sad to livid in a split second. She yanked her other hand out of his and stormed away, leaving the Ravenclaw Common Room in a state of shock. From the open door, we could hear her yelling obscenities about ‘that bloody idiot Potter,’ and how if she’d ‘rather spend a year in Azkaban than see his bloody face one more time!”  
  
James looked distraught and looked to Kendra, Charlie, and I expectantly. Kendra just shrugged and hurried away after the furious Lily. Charlie and I glanced each other and then followed suit, murmuring ‘You really blew it this time,’ and ‘Just stay away from her for a little while,’ as we passed James.  
  
Once we got into the corridor, it wasn’t hard to track down the other two. Lily seemed to have been so emotional that she was leaving crying first years in her wake. One of them seemed to have been hit by lightning, such that her hair stood on end. Another was babbling in rhyme much to her dismay and her friends’ amusement. I had half a mind to try and reverse the spell for that one, but I honestly had no idea how. It took several minutes but we finally caught up to Kendra and Lily near the Great Hall. They had stopped at the edge of a large crowd of students, all who seemed enraptured in something.  
  
“What’s going on?” I asked, straining to see over the large number of heads.  
  
Kendra shrugged but I saw a familiar face in the crowd turn around.  
  
Derek Wood gave us a sad look before saying, “Its Professor McLaren. They’ve decided that the best place for her is St. Mungo’s. I heard that Dumbledore’s already got a replacement waiting.”  
  
I stood on tiptoes to see the bobbing heads of what I assumed to be Healers walk past the crowd of students. A second later, large trunks and bags hovered after them; they were no doubt Professor McLaren’s belongings.  
  
“Do they not know what happened then?” Lily asked, her tears and anger at James Potter forgotten.  
  
“No,” Wood said simply. “Professor McLaren’s in no fit state to talk about it, and the only other person who would have an idea is Sirius.” He looked straight at me. “Guess he hasn’t said anything to you?”  
  
Guilt pounded at me as I realized that I hadn’t once asked him about the incident. I shook my head slowly and stared blankly ahead at the seemingly impenetrable wall of students.  
  
“I haven’t asked, and even if he did, wouldn’t he have told Dumbledore?”  
  
Silence met my ears and I felt sick. Could Sirius possibly have known what had happened to both he and Professor McLaren? Of worse still, could he have known before it actually happened? He did seem intent on talking to her after you date, I told myself. But then I quickly shook my head to get those traitorous thought out of my head. Sirius was a good bloke. He obviously didn’t have anything to do with the attack. Right?


End file.
